<p> Pfizer and BioNTech, makers of a Covid-19 vaccine, said on Thursday that their product is effective against coronavirus variants that have emerged in Britain and South Africa.</p>.<p>In a statement, the two companies said the "small differences" detected in tests comparing the original virus and the recent versions "are unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine".</p>.<p>While the findings indicated no need for a new vaccine to tackle the new strains, Pfizer and BioNTech said they would respond if there was evidence that the variants could defeat their current vaccine.</p>.<p>They would continue to monitor their vaccine's "real-world effectiveness", including against new strains, they said.</p>.<p>"Pfizer and BioNTech believe that the flexibility of BioNTech's proprietary mRNA vaccine platform is well suited to develop new vaccine variants if required," they said.</p>.<p>Daily global deaths from Covid-19 topped 18,000 for the first time Wednesday, with vaccines seen as the only real chance of returning to some form of normality.</p>
<p> Pfizer and BioNTech, makers of a Covid-19 vaccine, said on Thursday that their product is effective against coronavirus variants that have emerged in Britain and South Africa.</p>.<p>In a statement, the two companies said the "small differences" detected in tests comparing the original virus and the recent versions "are unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine".</p>.<p>While the findings indicated no need for a new vaccine to tackle the new strains, Pfizer and BioNTech said they would respond if there was evidence that the variants could defeat their current vaccine.</p>.<p>They would continue to monitor their vaccine's "real-world effectiveness", including against new strains, they said.</p>.<p>"Pfizer and BioNTech believe that the flexibility of BioNTech's proprietary mRNA vaccine platform is well suited to develop new vaccine variants if required," they said.</p>.<p>Daily global deaths from Covid-19 topped 18,000 for the first time Wednesday, with vaccines seen as the only real chance of returning to some form of normality.</p>