The first participants in the Moderna trial evaluating new variant-specific takeovers have been vaccinated, the company announced. The new vaccines target a variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa, which has been shown to have reduced vaccine efficacy.
Modern is testing three variations of a booster among 60 vaccinated participants. First, it will study the specific outbreak of the variant, which will be given at a lower dose than the original vaccine (20 micrograms), and will require an approved evaluation and modification of the original FDA authorization for emergency use. before distributing it to the public, if the results of the trial are promising.
Second, Moderna said it plans to study a combination of the original vaccine and the specific variant in one go at 50 micrograms. Finally, it will study the effects of the booster variant fired at a higher dose, 50 micrograms.
In a recently published study, the biotech giant said its existing COVID-19 stroke was found to have a six-fold reduction in vaccine-induced antibodies to variant B.1.351. Despite this reduction, however, “neutralizing stock levels with B.1.351 remain above the levels expected to be protective,” the company said.
“As a precaution, Moderna is pursuing a clinical development strategy against these emerging variants,” according to the statement released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an institute of the National Institutes of Health will conduct a trial to test the new modified vaccines as primary traits in unvaccinated individuals and as a booster shot in previously vaccinated individuals. Moderna said the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will begin this study when it receives the green light from the FDA.