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Moderna announced on Wednesday that it had administered the first doses of a modified vaccine designed to combat variants of the coronavirus to study participants.
The company said it was observing the effectiveness of two different modified vaccines in a small study of 60 people who had previously received the original vaccine.
Some of the participants will receive a booster dose of a modified vaccine specially designed to fight a variant of the virus first identified in South Africa. This variant was shown to reduce to some extent the immune response elicited by the original Moderna vaccine.
Other participants will receive a booster dose that combines the modified vaccine with the original vaccine to produce a “multivalent” vaccine designed to fight multiple strains at once.
The studies are part of the company’s strategy to prepare for variants of the virus if necessary.
Moderna says studies have shown that its original vaccine can protect against variants, but there is still a six-fold reduction in the level of antibodies produced against the South African strain.
Therefore, “out of caution,” the company said it was preparing a booster dose specifically targeted against this strain if needed.
Pfizer has also prepared for the possibility of needing booster doses.
In addition, Moderna said the National Institutes of Health will conduct a study with its modified vaccine in participants who have not already received the original vaccine.
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