FALL will be prepared for the fall of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that protects against the South African variant, according to the CEO
- Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said the company has been testing three booster shots of the coronavirus vaccine in parallel.
- Two-thirds of the volunteers will get an active version of the booster shot, which targets the mutated spike protein that makes the South African variant so effective in infecting human cells.
- The remaining third will receive a vaccine that combines the original Moderna vaccine and the booster vaccine in one dose.
- Bancel said emergency use should be filed with the FDA during the third quarter of 2021, making booster shots available in the fall
- About 39.5% of the American population has received at least one dose and more than three million people are vaccinated every day
The CEO of Moderna says the COVID-19 vaccine booster from the biotechnology company (a third feature given to people to improve their protection) will be available in the fall.
Stéphane Bancel told CNBC that researchers have been testing three different types of third doses at once to see which is most effective in protecting against the South African variant of the coronavirus.
“Our goal is to work very hard to prepare for it before the fall,” he told Squawk Box.
“I want to make sure there are booster shots available in the fall to protect people, as we’ll see next fall and winter season in the U.S.”
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel (pictured) told CNBC that the company has been testing three shots of the coronavirus vaccine in parallel.
Bancel said emergency use should be filed with the FDA in the third quarter of 2021, making booster shots available in the fall. Pictured: a vial of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine, April 2021
While U.S. health regulators have not recommended that Americans receive boosts for the coronavirus vaccine, experts fear increased transmission of variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
The South African variant has been the most troubling because several studies have found that it evades vaccines more easily than the older types of the virus.
Recently updated data from Moderna’s Phase III clinical trial showed that their vaccine is 90% effective in protecting against COVID-19 six months after the second dose.
While this is a degradation of estimates from his previous clinical trials, which suggest he could prevent 94.5 percent of infections, it remains a test of lasting protection.
Bancel said it is possible that after six more months, or a year since a person has received their second dose, protection against the virus will go up by 70 to 80 percent.
“What I think this really demonstrates is what we’ve been saying for now, for months now, that we believe we’re all going to need momentum,” he said.
‘We are testing at the clinic right now, increasing our currently authorized vaccine. And we think that will be useful because it will basically increase all the neutralizing antibodies of people who have already received our vaccines. “
In the new study, volunteers will receive three types of booster shots, which are modified versions of Moderna’s original vaccine.
One-third of participants will receive 50 micrograms from the reinforcement candidate, who has been christened as mRNA-1273,351.
The booster vaccine serum contains some genetic code for the mutated spike protein of the South African variant, which the virus uses to enter and infect human cells.
More than three million people are being vaccinated every day as the U.S. continues to intensify vaccination efforts
Currently, more than 131.2 million Americans (39.5% of the population) have received at least one dose and 84.2 million (25.4%) are fully immunized.
Another third will receive a higher dose, 100 micrograms, from the candidate.
The latter group will be given a vaccine called mRNA-1273,211, which combines the original Moderna vaccine and the booster vaccine in one dose.
Researchers will evaluate the safety of the enhancer, as well as whether or not it is capable of inducing an immune response.
They will also look at possible side effects such as redness and pain at the injection site, fever, headache, fatigue and muscle aches.
If the results are positive and the third dose is determined to be safe, Moderna will apply for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the third quarter of 2021.
As of Monday, more than 131.2 million Americans (39.5% of the population) have received at least one dose and 84.2 million (25.4%) are fully immunized.
More than three million people are vaccinated every day, and the United States has recently exceeded President Joe Biden’s goal of 200 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.
