The first participants in the Moderna study who evaluated the new booster photos specific to the variant were vaccinated, the company announced. The new vaccines target a variant of coronavirus first detected in South Africa, which has been shown to have reduced vaccine efficacy.
Moderna is testing three variants of a booster between 60 vaccinated participants. First, it will study the variant-specific jab, which will be administered at a lower dose than the original vaccine (20 micrograms) and will require an approved evaluation and modification of the FDA’s initial emergency use authorization before distribution to the public. , if the results of the process prove promising.
Second, Moderna said it intends to study a combination of the original and variant vaccine in a single 50-gram jab. Finally, he will study the effects of the booster shot at a higher dose, 50 micrograms.
In a recently published study, the biotechnology giant said that its existing COVID-19 cage had a six-fold reduction in vaccine-induced antibodies against variant B.1.351. However, despite this reduction, “the levels of neutralization of the security with B.1.351 remain above the levels that are expected to be protective,” the company said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Moderna is pursuing a clinical development strategy against these emerging variants,” according to the company’s statement released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an institute within the National Institutes of Health will conduct a study to test the new modified vaccines as primary vaccines in unvaccinated people and as a booster vaccine in those previously vaccinated. Moderna said the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will begin this study when it receives the green light from the FDA.