Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Is Effective In Older Adults, Claims Early Study
Moderna has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine that¡¯s currently in its Phase III trials was able to induce appropriate immune responses in older adults, just like in younger participants, making the vaccine useful for the category of people most susceptible to contracting the novel coronavirus.
While our world continues to fight against the dreadful COVID-19 pandemic, all of us are desperately waiting for a vaccine or a drug that can help us cure the novel coronavirus and get on with our lives as usual.
Reuters
We already have a few vaccines that are on the final stages of their study and some of them have been showing really promising results. One of them being Moderna. And now, Moderna has revealed that its vaccine has shown positive results in older adults, as per early study data.
Reported first by Reuters, Moderna has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine that¡¯s currently in its Phase III trials was able to induce appropriate immune responses in older adults, just like in younger participants, making the vaccine useful for the category of people most susceptible to contracting the novel coronavirus.
This data has surfaced from the Phase I study that includes analysis from 20 additional people that looked at how effective the vaccine was in older adults. Each of the subjects was given the 100-microgram dose -- similar to what is being provided to test volunteers in the Phase III trials. As per data, Moderna saw immune response in people aged between 56 years and 70 years, as well as above 70 years of age to be similar to those between the ages of 18 to 55 years.
This result definitely is a positive sign for the vaccine as usually the immune system of people from old age don¡¯t respond as well to vaccines.
Moderna is currently undergoing phase III of its human trials. It has so far enrolled over 13,000 participants, however, it has a target of 30,000 individuals to truly claim the vaccine to be effective before it is approved and rolled into the market.
Reuters
Apart from testing the efficacy of vaccines against the novel coronavirus, Moderna is also working on easy storage of the vaccine. Today, the vaccine is required to be stored at -20 degree celsius for shipping and long-term storage, for up to six months. The vaccine can survive at regular refrigerator temperatures for up to 10 days. They¡¯re working on making the vaccine remain stable at higher temperatures.
Other vaccines players that are currently undergoing phase III human trials include Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac Biotech, CanSino Biologics, and China National Biotec Group.
