Filenews 25 January 2021
The effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine against mutated strains found in Britain and South Africa has been assured by the US pharmaceutical company Moderna.
The company's announcement comes at a time of concern about the effectiveness of vaccines in new mutations.
However, Moderna notes that the vaccine may work, but produces fewer antibodies against the mutation found in South Africa. It is therefore working on strengthening the vaccine and the necessary adjustments.
Why the company is moving forward with reinforcements
Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks said the vaccine would be strengthened in order to improve its effectiveness. "I don't know if we need it and I hope we don't need it," he said.
Moderna cited the results of a study that used blood samples from eight people who had done both doses of the vaccine and two monkeys who had also been vaccinated.
The mutated strain detected in Britain had no impact on the levels of antibodies created in the body after vaccination. However, in the mutant strain from South Africa, there was a decrease six fold at these levels.
Moderna, however, reassures that in this case too, antibodies "remain above protection levels".
For the research, Moderna collaborated with the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Communicable Diseases, which is part of the National Institute of Health.
So far, the results have not been published or evaluated by scientists, but have been submitted to bioRxiv, which publishes preliminary studies online.
Source: protothema.gr
