Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes Brazil variant in lab study – Reuters

Pfizer and BioNTech’s jointly developed COVID-19 vaccine was successful in neutralizing a new variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Brazil, Reuters reports, citing the findings of a study conducted by scientists from the companies and the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Key takeaways

“Blood taken from people who had been given the vaccine neutralized an engineered version of the virus that contained the same mutations carried on the spike portion of the highly contagious P.1 variant first identified in Brazil.”

“The neutralizing ability was roughly equivalent to the vaccine’s effect on a previous less contagious version of the virus from last year.”

Previously, Pfizer has said it believes its current vaccine is highly likely to still protect against the South African variant.

Market implications

Encouraging vaccine news combined with the retreat in the US Treasury yields if boding well for the risk sentiment, as the Asian equities attempt a bounce while the S&P 500 futures extend gains towards 3,850.

The US dollar index takes a breather, easing off four-month tops at 92.50.