Coronavirus: Moderna says vaccine works against new Covid-19 variants
- Lab tests show shot produces comparable antibody protection against UK strain, but immunity may wane more quickly for South Africa variant
- Both strains thought to be more infectious and British officials said the variant discovered in UK may be deadlier
US biotechnology firm Moderna said its vaccine will protect against two known variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, but it plans to start human studies of a booster shot for a strain from South Africa that may cause immunity to wane more quickly.
In laboratory tests, Moderna’s vaccine produced antibody protection against the strain first identified in Britain, known as B.1.1.7, at levels comparable with older versions of the virus. But against the South Africa variant, known as B.1.351, the neutralising antibodies produced were six-fold lower, the company said in a statement.
Despite that decrease, Moderna’s vaccine should protect against either strain, according to the company. While the South Africa variant has not been seen in the US, the UK mutation, which British officials said last week may be deadlier than earlier forms of the disease, is spreading rapidly among Americans.
Both strains are thought to be more transmissible than the original version of the virus.
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“We expect that whatever immunity you get over time will wane, the question is will it wane faster if you have lower levels to begin with,” said Tal Zaks, Moderna’s chief medical officer, in an interview.
Moderna shares gained as much as 12.5 per cent in New York trading, the biggest intraday gain since December 1. Over the past 12 months, the company’s stock price has soared more than 500 per cent.