Moderna may offer reinforcement surveys by the end of the year for protection against COVID-19 variants.
Reuters Moderna’s chief medical officer Tal Zaks reported on Wednesday that the company should be able to deliver booster shots by 2021, adding that tests show the boosters provide self-assured protection against coronavirus variants.
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The National Institutes of Health has started testing a booster shot from Moderna against a variant first found in South Africa, which gives scientists cause for concern compared to other tribes.
The variant, B.1.351, appears to be more contagious than previous strains and could potentially evade the protection generated by therapy and vaccines, although preliminary evidence has shown that current vaccines provide adequate protection against variants.
“Out of a wealth of caution, NIAID has continued its partnership with Moderna to evaluate this variant vaccine candidate should an updated vaccine be required,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said last week.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus variant that originated in the UK, the B.1.1.7 variant, has become the dominant strain in the US. Experts believe the variant is more contagious and can be more deadly, but all three vaccinations authorized in the US, including Moderna’s, have been shown to work effectively against stress.
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