The aspect of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine that really stunned the company's scientists was the fact that vaccinated participants in the Phase 3 efficacy trial had protections against the pathogen by day 12, a time at which there was barely any antibody response, Stat News reports. "That was the biggest surprise," said Vidia Roopchand, Pfizer's principal scientist for viral vaccines.
Roopchand is still trying to figure exactly why that is — not that it's a bad thing — by poring over the data. One possibility is that other aspects of the immune system such as T-cells that Roopchand says have largely been neglected in immunology research may have played a significant role. It's possible, he suggested, that's more important to measure cellular immunity than look for a robust antibody response. "The 12-day protection data is telling us there's more to it," Roopchand told Stat. "This is a great time to learn."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The sneaking rise of whooping coughUnder the Radar The measles outbreak isn't the only one to worry about
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everythingFeature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreadsSpeed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozensSpeed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
