New Moderna vaccine study shows antibodies maintain against variants for six months

According to a new manuscript published in Science last week, the majority of people given Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine maintained antibodies not just against SARS-CoV-2, but against many of its variants of concern, for six months after a second dose.

The two-dose vaccine has been emphasized particularly in the United States and has been one of the most effective counters to the initial virus, alongside a candidate from Pfizer. However, this new data shows that it remains effective even against Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Iota, and the wide-spreading and particularly dangerous Delta strains of the virus that have emerged over time.

“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,” Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said. “Along with our partners, we are committed to generating data on the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and sharing this as available. These data support the durable efficacy of 93 percent 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.”

Time did bring waning efficacy for the vaccine, but it continued to demonstrate binding and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 across various tests for six months. This sets it apart from the Pfizer vaccine, which recently demonstrated majorly reduced capabilities to prevent infection from COVID-19’s newest forms. In Moderna’s case, results were based on blood tests of 24 fully vaccinated volunteers spread across months.

Researchers determined that little evidence was shown of the immunity waning faster in different age groups, though. While the oldest individuals did trend toward lower antibody levels, they declared the differences to be small. The results are meant to be a complement to other, real-world evidence of the vaccine’s efficacy.