COVID-19: Moderna says immunity created by its vaccine lasts a year

US pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc on January 11 said that the immunity from its COVID-19 vaccine should last at least a year. Moderna’s mRNA vaccine has shown 94 per cent efficacy against the highly-infectious disease in the final phase of the clinical trial. While speaking at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference, the drugmaker said that it is confident that its messenger RNA technology it used was well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus which has emerged in a handful of countries. 

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is administered in two doses, 28 days apart. Its mRNA-1273 technology uses synthetic nRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognise and neutralise it. On Monday, the US-based company said that in December it would run tests to confirm the vaccine’s activity against any strain. 

Further, the drugmaker also informed that it is expected to deliver between 600 million doses and one billion doses of its vaccine in 2021. Moderna has forecasted vaccine-related sales of $11.7 billion for the year, based on advance purchase agreements signed with governments across the globe. During the conference, Moderna’s CEO Stéphane Bancel said that his team feels “very comfortable” with the track record they have now. Bancel reiterated that Moderna is on track to deliver at least 600 million doses. 

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Moderna’s vaccine ‘safe and effective’ 

Meanwhile, the UK, EU, Canada and the US have already approved Moderna vaccine based on the results of its trials. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Moderna’s vaccine has demonstrated 94.1 per cent efficacy in preventing the highly-infectious disease. The scientists also noted that the severe cases occurred only among the volunteers who received the placebo.

Moderna's vaccine is easier to transport and handle if compared to Pfizer-BioNTech because it doesn't require to be stored at extreme temperatures. The European Medical Agency (EMA) has said that a “very large clinical trial” proved the vaccine is safe and effective and also showed the efficacy of 90.9% in people with chronic lung disease, heart disease, obesity, liver disease, diabetes, or HIV infection. 

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