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Moderna
booster
increases
antibodies
against
COVID-19
variants,
early
data
shows
By
Carl
O'donnell
reuters.com
A
vial and
sryinge
are seen
in front
of a
displayed
Moderna
logo in
this
illustration
taken
January
11,
2021.
REUTERS/Dado
Ruvic/Illustration
Moderna
Inc
(MRNA.O)
said on
Wednesday
early
human
trial
data
shows
that a
third
dose of
either
its
current
COVID-19
shot or
an
experimental
new
vaccine
candidate
increases
immunity
against
variants
of
COVID-19
first
found in
Brazil
and
South
Africa.
The
booster
shots,
given to
volunteers
previously
inoculated
with
Moderna's
two-dose
vaccine
regimen,
also
boosted
antibodies
against
the
original
version
of
COVID-19,
Moderna
said.
The
early
data
comes
from a
40-person
trial
testing
both
Moderna's
existing
shot and
a
version
developed
to
protect
against
the
South
African
variant
of
COVID-19
called
mRNA-1273.351.
Moderna
is also
studying
a shot
that
combines
both the
new and
existing
vaccine.
The
results
show
that
while
booster
shots of
either
version
of the
vaccine
increased
antibodies
against
all of
the
variants
of
COVID-19
tested
in the
trial,
the new
booster
had a
bigger
response
against
the
South
African
variant
than the
original
vaccine.
"We
are
encouraged
by these
new
data,
which
reinforce
our
confidence
that our
booster
strategy
should
be
protective"
against
the
newer
variants
of
COVID-19,
Stephane
Bancel,
Moderna's
chief
executive
officer,
said in
a
statement.
Both
booster
shots
were
well
tolerated,
with
side
effects
similar
to what
volunteers
in
previous
studies
experienced
from the
second
dose of
its
vaccine,
Moderna
said.
The
new
variants
of
COVID-19
first
discovered
in South
Africa
and
Brazil
are
thought
to be
more
resistant
to
existing
vaccines.
Both
variants
have
been
detected
in the
United
States
but
comprise
only a
small
fraction
of U.S.
cases so
far,
according
to
federal
data
last
updated
in
April.
Moderna’s
study is
looking
at
levels
of
antibodies
in
participants’
blood
that
combat
COVID-19,
an early
indication
that
they
will be
protected
against
the
virus.
It first
announced
it was
studying
ways to
protect
against
the
variants
of
COVID-19
in
February.
Moderna
expects
to share
additional
data
soon on
another
potential
booster
shot
that
mixes
its
existing
COVID-19
vaccine
with the
newly
developed
shot.
The
U.S.
government
scientists
at the
National
Institute
of
Allergy
and
Infectious
Diseases
(NIAID)
is
conducting
a
separate
early
stage
study of
mRNA-1273.351,
Moderna
said.
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