Pfizer Study Deals New Blow to South Africa’s Vaccine Hopes

Pfizer Study Deals New Blow to South Africa’s Vaccine Hopes
Vials of coronavirus vaccine and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo, on Oct. 31, 2020. Dado Ruvic/Reuters
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JOHANNESBURG—Scientists will meet on Thursday to advise South Africa’s government on its next steps after a study suggested the dominant local coronavirus variant may reduce antibody protection from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by two-thirds.

The laboratory study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, dealt a new blow to the country hardest-hit by the pandemic on the African continent.