Moderna says immunity to COVID-19 vaccine at least a year

Immunity to Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine is expected to last at least a year, the company said at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference Monday.

The drugmaker said he was confident the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology he was using was well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in a handful of countries.

The company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, uses synthetic mRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and train the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.

Moderna said in December that he would run tests to confirm the vaccine’s activity against any strain.

The company announced Monday that it plans to deliver between 600 million doses and 1 billion doses of its vaccine in 2021 and expects vaccine-related sales of $ 11.7 billion for the year, based on advance purchase agreements signed with governments.

“The team feels very comfortable with the record we have now… that we are on track to deliver at least 600 million doses,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO.