September 6, 2023 – Moderna says its upcoming COVID-19 vaccine should work against the BA.2.86 variant that has raised concerns a few possible surge in cases.
“The company said its vaccine produced an 8.7-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies in humans against BA.2.86, which is tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” Reuters reported.
“We believe this is news that people want to hear as they prepare to go out and get their fall booster shot,” Jacqueline Miller, head of infectious diseases at Moderna, told the news agency.
The CDC said the BA.2.86 variant could also be more prone to infect individuals who have already had COVID or have been previously vaccinated. BA.2.86 is an omicron variant. It has undergone more mutations than XBB.1.5, which has dominated for many of this yr and was the intended goal of the updated vaccinations.
BA.2.86 will not be yet widely present within the United States. However, authorities are concerned concerning the high variety of mutations. NBC News reported.
The FDA is anticipated to approve the brand new Moderna vaccine in early October.
Pfizer told NBC that its updated booster also produced a robust antibody response against omicron variants, including BA.2.86.
Due to the emergence of several variants, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have increased within the United States.
Experts told Reuters that BA.2.86 is unlikely to cause a wave of severe illness and deaths because immunity has been built up world wide through previous infections and mass vaccinations.