BioNTech Co-founder ‘Confident’ Vaccine Works Against Indian COVID-19 Variant

Apr 29, 2021

BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin on Wednesday voiced confidence that the vaccine that his company jointly

developed with Pfizer works against the Indian variant of the coronavirus.

“We are still testing the Indian variant, but the Indian variant has mutations that we have already tested for and

which our vaccine works against, so I am confident,” – Sahin.

“The vaccine is cleverly built and I’m convinced the bulwark will hold. And if we have to strengthen the bulwark

again, then we will do it, that I’m not worried about,” he added.

India is facing surging new cases and deaths in the pandemic, and fears are rising that the variant could be

contributing to the unfolding catastrophe.

The World Health Organization detects in “at least 17 countries” the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19 first found in India

as of Tuesday .

The health agency recently listed B.1.617 — which counts several sub-lineages with slightly different mutations and

characteristics — as a “variant of interest”.

But so far it has stopped short of declaring it a “variant of concern”, which would have indicated that it is more

dangerous than the original version of the virus by, for instance, being more transmissible, deadly, or able to dodge vaccine protections.

The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine was the first to win authorisation in the West and has since been deploying this vaccine

in dozens of countries worldwide.

Giving an update on the authorisation process in China, Sahin quotes the approval was “very possible in July”.

In addition, “We are almost through with all questions,” .

-AFP

By Cynthia N.

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