Moderna study shows its COVID-19 vaccine maintains antibodies against variants of concern up to 6 months
Moderna, Inc. announced the publication of new data on the durability of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in generating neutralizing antibodies against variants of concern. The manuscript was published in Science. According to the paper, the majority of individuals vaccinated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine maintained both binding and functional antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants for six months after the second dose.
“We are pleased with these new data showing that people vaccinated with two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine maintained antibodies through six months, including against variants of concern such as the Delta variant. Along with our partners, we are committed to generating data on the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and sharing this as available,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “These data support the durable efficacy of 93% seen with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine through six months. We expect that these data and the growing body of real-world evidence will help inform health regulators’ approaches to how and when to administer additional boosting doses.”
This study used a variety of assays and showed that after two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, binding and neutralizing antibodies were generated against ancestral strain of the virus and against the variants of concern, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Iota. While some waning in antibody levels were observed over time, the majority of participants had detectable neutralizing antibody titers at six months after the completion of the primary series.
A trend towards lower antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 spike variants was observed in the oldest individuals at Day 209 (through six months). Differences were small, however, and there was overlap between age groups. Importantly, many individuals in the oldest group retained neutralizing activity against the variants six months after the second vaccine dose.
