[ad_1]
Nova Rodriguez, University of Berkeley Health Services Medical Assistant, prepares a dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before giving it to a health services colleague at Tang Center University near UC Berkeley in Berkeley, California.
Jessica Christian | Chronicle of San Francisco | Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
Moderna said on Monday it was speeding up work on a Covid-19 recall to guard against the variant recently discovered in South Africa.
Its researchers have said that its current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly transmissible strains found in the UK and South Africa, although it appears to be possibly less effective against the latter.
The two-dose vaccine produced an antibody response against several variants, including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which were first identified in the UK and South Africa, respectively, according to a Moderna study conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The study has not yet been peer reviewed.
The vaccine generated a weaker immune response against the South African strain, but the antibodies remained above levels that should be protective against the virus, the company said, adding that the results could suggest “a potential risk of early decline in immunity to the new B.1.351 strains. “
“As a precaution and taking advantage of the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are advancing a new variant booster candidate against the variant first identified in the Republic of South Africa in the clinic to determine whether it will be more effective to increase headlines against this and potentially future variants, ”Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.
Moderna shares rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading after the announcement.
White House health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said on Thursday that new data showed that the Covid-19 vaccines currently on the market may not be as effective in guarding against new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus. . Some early findings published on the bioRxiv preprint server indicate that the South African variant may escape antibodies provided by certain coronavirus treatments.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared Moderna’s vaccine for people aged 18 and older in December.
Moderna’s vaccine, like Pfizer’s, uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology. It’s a new approach to vaccines that uses genetic material to elicit an immune response. Advanced clinical trial data released in November shows Moderna’s vaccine to be over 94% effective in preventing Covid, is safe, and appears to fend off serious illness. To achieve maximum effectiveness, the vaccine requires two doses four weeks apart.
This is a developing story. Please come back for updates.
–CNBC Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link