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Moderna’s vaccine keeps the activity of new variants of the coronavirus from the United Kingdom and South Africa neutralized. The conclusion was obtained through the results of in vitro neutralization studies of sera from individuals vaccinated with the North American laboratory vaccine against Covid-19.
In a statement issued this Monday, January 25, Moderna assumes that “the regimen of two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at a dose of 100 µg protects against emerging strains detected to date” and without “significant impact on the neutralization of values vs. variant B .1.1.7 (first identified in the UK) ”.
Regarding the new variant from South Africa, Moderna reveals that “there was a six-fold reduction in neutralizing titers with variant B.1.351 (identified for the first time in the Republic of South Africa) in relation to the previous variants.”
However, the North American company points out that despite this reduction, the levels of neutralizing values of the South African variant “remain above the levels that are expected to constitute protection.” Thus, and as a precaution, Moderna launched a clinical program to increase immunity to emerging variants.
Moderna will test an additional booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine to study its ability to further increase neutralizing titers against emerging strains, and is developing “a variant Booster” vaccine against the South African variant.
Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, explains that “as we seek to defeat the Covid-19 virus, which created a global pandemic, we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus evolves. We are excited about this new data, which reinforces our confidence that the modern vaccine against Covid-19 should provide protection against these newly detected variants. “
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