Pharmaceutical company Moderna on Monday released new data that show its vaccine has proven to be effective against new, mutated strains of COVID-19 that first were identified in Britain and South Africa.
Moderna, which already has its vaccine being distributed in the United States, said new studies conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed its two-dose vaccine should protect against the mutated strains, but may require another booster to protect against the South African variant.
We just announced that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine retains neutralizing activity against emerging variants first identified in the U.K. and the Republic of South Africa. Read more: https://t.co/UCCvX0PrKV pic.twitter.com/nCGl3hfhlU
— Moderna (@moderna_tx) January 25, 2021
The company said its current vaccine produces antibody responses against known variants, including the British variant B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, the South African strain.
The antibody response was weaker for the South African strain, it said, which may indicate a "potential risk of earlier waning of immunity."
As a result, Moderna will do more research on another booster shot.
"Out of an abundance of caution and leveraging the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are advancing an emerging variant booster candidate ... into the clinic to determine if it will be more effective to boost titers against this and potentially future variants," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.
Moderna's vaccine proved to be about 95% effective, delivered in two doses several weeks apart. The vaccine uses messenger RNA to spur an immune response with bits of genetic material instead of a full virus.
As a result, Moderna will do more research on another booster shot.
"Out of an abundance of caution and leveraging the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are advancing an emerging variant booster candidate ... into the clinic to determine if it will be more effective to boost titers against this and potentially future variants," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.
Moderna's vaccine proved to be about 95% effective, delivered in two doses several weeks apart. The vaccine uses messenger RNA to spur an immune response with bits of genetic material instead of a full virus.
"Get ready just in case a variant emerges, which is resistant," he said.
Breaking News: Moderna said it believed its vaccine was effective against new coronavirus variants, but it’s also making a version that could be used as a booster.https://t.co/fWY5NCAM4f
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 25, 2021
Minnesota on Monday reported its first case of the P.1 variant first discovered in Brazil marking the first case of the variant, which is thought to be more transmissible than the original strain, in the United States.
The patient reported traveling to Brazil before becoming ill during the first week of January and the specimen was collected on Jan. 9 the Minnesota Department of Public Health said. The state also discovered two new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases expert in the United States and President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, warned last week that new coronavirus strains could be twice as transmissible, but a strong nationwide inoculation program would likely keep the virus from mutation levels.
The data released by Moderna on Monday has not yet been published for peer review.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
