NIH Begins Testing New Moderna Vaccine Against South African Variant
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated tests of a new COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna targeting the South African variant, B.1.351. It is being tested in about 210 healthy adults. It will also include about 60 adults who participated in Moderna’s first COVID-19 vaccine trials last year and about 150 people who have not yet received a vaccine. The trial is recruiting volunteers in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Seattle, and Nashville.
“Preliminary data show that the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States should provide an adequate degree of protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and White House chief medical advisor. “However, out of an abundance of caution, NIAID has continued its partnership with Moderna to evaluate this variant vaccine candidate should there be a need for an updated vaccine.”
Source: Biospace
