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21st December 2020
03:44pm GMT

Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first patient in the United Kingdom to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by Jacob King - Pool / Getty Images)[/caption]
However, health experts assert that the Covid-19 vaccine should still be effective in tackling the mutated virus.
In an interview with broadcaster ZDF, German health minister Jens Spahn sought to allay fears surrounding the vaccine's efficacy against the new strain.
Spahn said: "According to everything we know so far, [the new strain] has no impact on the vaccines."
He added the Covid-19 vaccine will remain "just as effective" in tackling the pandemic.
Spahn's sentiments were supported by the French government, who released the following statement:
"This genetic variant does not seem to entail, at this stage of knowledge, a heightened seriousness or a resistance to the vaccine."
The vaccine Spahn et al are referring to is that produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, which has been approved for use in the UK. It has already been rolled out by the NHS to those most at risk.
The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in the USA, and is also set to gain authorisation from the European Medicines Agency for use across the continent.Explore more on these topics:

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