The test is small and the data is limited, but the results are hopeful: a modified version of the Moderna vaccine also neutralizes the Brazilian and South African variants of the coronavirus, the pharmaceutical company says.
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Moderna has done clinical trials – small, yet – where patients received a third syringe of their vaccine. A so-called booster. That shot contained a slightly modified version of that vaccine, which also works against the dangerous new variants of the corona virus, the company announced Wednesday. The test participants were given the booster six to eight months after their first dose, and it appears to have increased the antibody count.
The newer variants of the virus – British, Brazilian, South African – appear to be more contagious and resistant to first-generation vaccines. These results suggest that a second, more potent generation of vaccines could be rolled out this year.
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