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Study: Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines "highly effective" against COVID variants

23 May 2021
Dan Ackermann

Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca are "highly effective" against variants first detected in India and the United Kingdom, Public Health England announced Saturday.

Why it matters: Some health experts have expressed concerns that contagious new variants could be more resistant against coronavirus vaccines, potentially prolonging the pandemic.

By the numbers: Public Health England said in a statement Saturday that a research conducted by health officials from April 5 to May 16 found that:

  • Two weeks after the second dose, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617 variant first detected in India, compared to 93% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant first found in England.
  • Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 60% effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617 variant compared to 66% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant.
  • Both vaccines were 33% effective against symptomatic disease from B.1.617, three weeks after the first dose compared to roughly 50% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant.

What they're saying: Public Health England said in the statement that "we expect to see even higher levels of effectiveness against hospitalization and death" in regards to these vaccines.

  • U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in the statement that due to this "groundbreaking" research gave officials confidence that those vaccinated against the coronavirus "have significant protection against this new variant."

Of note: The World Health Organization declared the B.1.617 coronavirus mutation a "variant of concern.

  • German authorities have announced they will ban most non-essential travel from the U.K. from Sunday to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants.

Go deeper: The race to avoid a possible "monster" COVID variant

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.