Moderna tests recall fire targeting South African variant

Drugmaker Moderna is set to start testing a new version of its Covid-19 vaccine specially designed to target an emerging variant of the coronavirus that was first reported in South Africa.

The company said on Wednesday that it had shipped doses of its variant-specific booster injection to the National Institutes of Health for clinical trials. This development is part of Moderna’s efforts to counter circulating strains of the coronavirus and to get ahead of the ever-changing virus.

“Moderna is committed to making as many updates to our vaccine as necessary until the pandemic is under control,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.

There is no evidence yet to suggest the coronavirus has mutated in a way that allows it to elude existing vaccines, but the prospect remains a serious concern for scientists around the world.

Early studies showed Moderna’s vaccine to be less protective against the South African variant, but the company said the observed level of neutralizing antibodies – which can bind to viruses and prevent them from entering cells – is remained above protection levels.

Still, preliminary results prompted Moderna to start fine-tuning its vaccine to make it more effective against the South African variant and other known strains of the virus, including one that was first reported in the UK and another that would have emerged in Brazil. .

An initial analysis found that Moderna’s vaccine is effective against the British variant, which is already spreading rapidly around the world. A separate vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech has also been shown to protect against the British variant, with this vaccine being slightly less effective against the South African strain, according to a study that has not yet been peer reviewed.

Cases of the British variant have been reported in more than 80 countries and in more than half of the US states The South African strain has been detected in at least 40 countries, including the United States

Moderna has already started testing using a third dose of its vaccine as a booster injection in people who have already received two doses, but will now begin clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of its variant-specific booster. . The company will also test a “multivalent booster candidate” that combines its original vaccine with the specific version of the variant in a single dose.

As part of the new trials, Moderna will assess immune responses in people who have already been vaccinated, as well as in participants who are receiving vaccines for the first time.