I was wondering if what was happening in India is some sort of super strain etc. Pfizer is supposedly effective, would like to know about Moderna (got that one) but assume it is also.
Quote:
The B.1.617 variant has multiple sub-lineages which slightly differ by their characteristic mutations but one of the main ones, called L452R, has been associated with increased transmissibility and lower resistance to treatment including vaccination, the WHO noted.
The head of the German laboratory BioNTech said on Wednesday however that he is "confident" their COVID vaccine developed in collaboration with Pfizer is effective against the Indian variant.
Ugur Sahin told a virtual press conference that tests are underway but that "the Indian variant has mutations that we have already studied and against which our vaccine works, which makes us confident."
India passed the grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday with more than 3,000 deaths reported over the previous 24 hours — a daily record for the country. The number of fatalities has soared in recent weeks with about 44,000 deaths registered since March 1.
It has also detected more than 300,000 new infections for the seventh consecutive day.
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