00:20
Modern says immunity to the Covid-19 vaccine will be maintained for at least a year
Immunity against the Covid-19 vaccine from Modern Inc. should last at least a year, the company said Monday at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference.
The pharmacist said he was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology he was using was very suitable for deploying a vaccine based on the new variant of coronavirus that has emerged in a handful of countries.
The company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, uses synthetic mRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.
Moderna said in December that it would conduct tests to confirm vaccine activity against any strain.
The company said Monday it expects to deliver between 600 million doses and 1 billion vaccines by 2021 and expects vaccine-related sales of $ 11.7 billion for the year, according to pre-purchase agreements signed with governments.
“The team feels very comfortable with the track record we have now … that we are on track to deliver at least 600 million doses,” CEO Stéphane Bancel said.
00:00
Despite vaccines, there is no coveted immunity in the herd in 2021: WHO
Although vaccines against Covid-19 were launched in several countries, the World Health Organization warned on Monday that herd immunity would not be achieved this year.
AFP: Countries around the world are looking forward to vaccines finally making it back to normal in the coming months.
But WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan warned that it would take time to produce and administer enough doses to stop the spread of the virus.
“We will not achieve any level of population immunity or immunity to the herd in 2021,” he told a virtual press conference from the WHO headquarters in Geneva, stressing the need to continue taking measures such as distancing. physical, hand washing and the use of masks to curb pandemic.
He praised the “incredible progress” made by scientists who achieved the unthinkable of developing not one, but several safe and effective vaccines against a new virus in less than a year.
But, he stressed, the launch “takes time.”
“It takes time to scale up dose production, not just in millions, but here we’re talking in the billions,” he noted, asking people to “be a little patient”.
Swaminathan stressed that, finally, “vaccines will come. They will go to all countries.”
“But in the meantime, we must not forget that there are measures that work,” he said.
Health and social measures should be taken to stop the transmission “at least the rest of this year”.
23:31
Summary
Hello, and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.
As the World Health Organization warned that global herd immunity would not be achieved by 20201, Modern Inc. said the immunity of those receiving the company’s Covid-19 vaccine should last at least a year.
The drugmaker said he was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology he used was very suitable for deploying a vaccine based on the new variant of coronavirus that has emerged in a handful of countries.
More information coming soon. In the meantime, here are the key developments from the last few hours:
- The President of Portugal gives positive to Covid-19. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is seeking a second term in the January 24 elections, has tested positive for coronavirus, but has so far shown no symptoms.
- The relaxation of the “reckless” Christmas rules was blamed on Covid’s terrible Irish rise. He cThe country has the highest infection rate in the world, with critics blaming socialization during the holiday season.
- Lebanon tightens Covid-19 restrictions as infections flare up. Lebanon has tightened coronavirus measures by imposing a total blockade over an 11-day period and introducing new travel restrictions to curb an unprecedented increase in infections.
- Spain records a record increase in infections over the weekend. Spain reported a record increase in coronavirus infections over the weekend and the number of new cases measured over the past 14 days rose to 436 per 100,000 people on Monday, from 350 to Friday.
- Unlikely verdict by the WHO team exploring Covid’s origins in China. Expectations should be very low for a team of experts from the World Health Organization investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic to reach any definitive conclusions from their first trip to China, an expert on WHO-affiliated health.
- The US legislature tested positive for Covid-19 after the siege of the Capitol. A 75-year-old U.S. lawmaker has tested positive for Covid-19 after it was shut down to prevent a crowd from attacking the U.S. Capitol last week, saying it believed it was exposed while in place with colleagues without masks.
- CDC says nine million Americans are now vaccinated. The 8,987,322 people who have received the first of two shots, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, account for less than a third of the total doses distributed to states by the government.
- Two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo test positive for Covid-19. The animals tested positive for coronavirus after showing symptoms of the disease, in what is believed to be the first known transmission of the virus to monkeys.
- Dubai withdrew from the UK travel corridor list. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on Monday that the UAE will be removed from the list and that anyone arriving from the country after 4am will be subject to the new restrictions.