Moderna recently claimed its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to have 100 percent efficacy in trials.?
In another proof to its potency, scientists have now found out that antibodies produced by the vaccine endure in the human body for at least three months.
A new study by researchers at the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), mapped the immune response of 34 participants to the vaccine administered to them during the first stage of a clinical trial.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, the study conferred that the Moderna vaccine candidate named mRNA-1273, ¡°produced high levels of binding and neutralizing antibodies that declined slightly over time.¡±
The mRNA-1273 vaccine is administered in two injections given 28 days apart. The study found that the produced antibodies ¡°remained elevated¡± in participants, young and old, 3 months after the booster vaccination.
A slight decline in antibodies was observed over time but the study mentions it to be ¡°expected¡± and hence, not a cause for concern. The study credits the efficiency of the vaccine to a certain type of immune cell that should help out in the memory response against the disease. It, however, notes that only more research can confirm this.
After the vaccine by Pfizer got its emergency approval for its administration to the masses, Moderna vaccine can be the next in line to get a similar approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The common attribute among the vaccines is the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) genetic material that they use. The new technology creates a harmless ¡°spike protein¡± within the human body that further triggers an immune response. So when the real virus enters the human body, the immune system is prepared to fight it.