Moderna says Covid-19 vaccine appears to be effective against new SA variant

Moderna Inc said on Monday its Covid-19 vaccine produced virus-neutralising antibodies in laboratory tests against new Covid-19 variants found in the UK and South Africa.

A two-dose regimen of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be protective against emerging strains detected to date, the company said.

Moderna, however, said it would test a vaccine booster against the South Africa variant in pre-clinical trials to see if that would be more effective in boosting antibodies against the variant and other future variants.

Although all viruses mutate constantly, scientists are concerned about the mutations discovered in Britain and South Africa because they are believed to be capable of altering key functions of the virus.