Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : January 26, 2021 10:22 AM IST
Moderna says its Covid-19 vaccine is effective against new variants
US-based drugmaker Moderna on Monday said its Covid-19 vaccine retains neutralising activity and remains protective variants of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Speaking to the media, the company said that vaccination with the Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine produced neutralising titers against all key emerging variants tested, including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 - the two coronavirus variants which were first identified in the UK and South Africa, respectively.
The company said that it will test an additional booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) to study the ability to further increase neutralising titers against emerging strains beyond the existing primary vaccination series.
Second, the company is working on advancing an emerging variant booster candidate (mRNA-1273.351) against the B.1.351 (coronavirus) variant which was first identified in South Africa.
The company also said that to evaluate the immunological benefit of boosting with strain-specific spike proteins - they are advancing mRNA-1273.351 into preclinical studies and a Phase 1 study in the US.
Moderna expects that its mRNA-based booster vaccine (whether mRNA-1273 or mRNA-1273.351) will be able to further boost neutralising titers in combination with all of the leading vaccine candidates.
"As we seek to defeat the Covid-19 virus, which has created a worldwide pandemic, we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus evolves. We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine should be protective against these newly detected variants," Stephane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, was quoted as saying.
Cancel further added, "Out of an abundance of caution and leveraging the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are advancing an emerging variant booster candidate against the variant first identifiedin the Republic of South Africa into the clinic to determine if it will be more effective to boost titers against this and potentially future variants."
Now that the company has cleared all the air from the minds of the people who wanted to know if the vaccines which are now being produced to fight against novel coronavirus can also keep them safe from the new variants. Let's understand few basics of the Moderna vaccine.
According to the results of the clinical trials, the Moderna vaccine was found to be 94.1% effective against novel coronavirus. But, a person will have to take two doses of the vaccine.
The company has earlier stated that when a person is being administered the Moderna vaccine, the person may experience pain, swelling, and redness accompanied by chills, fatigue, and headache.
However, the company in a statement has said that most of the reported side effects were mild to moderate.
Now, the most important part.
The medical experts have revealed that the Moderna vaccine is recommended for people aged 18 years and older. And, people who shouldn't take the vaccine shot are those who are allergic to any of the ingredients of the vaccine. Lactating women or a person who is under medications for another disease should consult a physician before taking the Moderna vaccine shot.
