Researchers at the US National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have claimed that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, produces potent antibodies that last over three months.
NIAID researchers have made this claim after studying the immune response of 34 adults who had participated in the phase-I of clinical trials of Moderna’s vaccine. All participants were administered two shots of the vaccine 28 days apart.
ALSO READ
Govt Approves Gwadar Smart City Master Plan
According to the NIAID study, which was published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, the antibodies, which prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus from invading human cells, declined slightly over time, as expected, but they remained elevated in all participants 3 months after being vaccinated.
Although the antibodies diminish over time, it is not a cause of concern as the vaccine also activated a special type of immune cell that helped the immune system retain information of the SARS-COV-2 in the immunological memory, the study adds.
Director NIAID, Anthony Fauci, has said that chances are high that the Moderna’s vaccine will allow the immune system to remember the Coronavirus for a long time and will reproduce antibodies against it on exposure in the future.
The US-based medical company, Moderna, issued the detailed findings of the phase-III clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine earlier this week. It revealed that the vaccine is 100% effective in preventing severe cases of COVID-19 and offers 94.5% protection against the deadly viral infection that has killed more than 1.51 million worldwide within almost a year.
ALSO READ
China Acknowledges Major Progress in CPEC Projects
CEO Moderna, Stephane Bancel, has said that the company has formally submitted the mRNA-1273 vaccine to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will evaluate the vaccine on 17 December and is expected to grant it official approval.
Meanwhile, Moderna has also announced the price of its vaccine. It has decided to charge governments between $25 and $37 per dose for its coronavirus vaccine, depending on the amount ordered.
