Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine remains more than 90% effective six months after the second dose is given, the company said.


What You Need To Know

  • Moderna announced that clinical trial data shows that its COVID-19 vaccine remains more than 90% effective six months after the second dose is given

  • The updated numbers bring the vaccine, which has emergency use authorization from the FDA, a step closer to full approval in the U.S.

  • A study published earlier in this month in the New England Journal of Medicine also found that antibody activity remained high six months after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine

  • Pfizer and BioNTech also recently reported that their vaccine, which is similar to Moderna's, is 90% effective at least six months after the second dose was given

The drugmaker announced updated data from its clinical trial, which found that its vaccine, developed in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, was 90% effective against all COVID-19 cases starting two weeks after the second dose, and 95% effective against severe cases.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna’s vaccine for emergency use in December for people ages 18 and over. The updated numbers bring the vaccine a step closer to full approval in the U.S.

The trial is ongoing to determine effectiveness beyond six months, and the company has expanded its trials to children as young as 6 months old. 

“The new preclinical data on our variant-specific vaccine candidates give us confidence that we can proactively address emerging variants,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a news release. “Moderna will make as many updates to our COVID-19 vaccine as necessary until the pandemic is under control.”

A study published earlier in this month in the New England Journal of Medicine also found that antibody activity remained high six months after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech also recently reported that their vaccine is 90% effective at least six months after the second dose was given. Like Moderna’s, that vaccine uses messenger-RNA technology.

Johnson & Johnson, whose vaccine administrations were paused across the U.S. on Tuesday, uses a different technology, known as adenoviral vectors. The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the pause "out of an abundance of caution" after six recipients in the U.S. developed a rare blood clot disorder.

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