COVID-19 vaccines effective against California coronavirus variant: study

Researchers in a new study found that COVID-19 vaccines are effective against a coronavirus variant that first emerged in California and has since become the dominant strain in the Golden State.  

For the study, the researchers tested blood serum from those who had received either the Moderna vaccine or the Novavax one. They did not test the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because the findings for the Moderna vaccine "would be comparable due to the similarities of the technology used in the two vaccines," per a university news release accompanying the findings.  They then exposed the California variant to the blood serum of those who had received both doses of the Moderna vaccine. They found that while there was a small decline in efficacy, the vaccine remained highly protective.