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Is the Moderna vaccine effective long term?
New data from the large Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial shows that the protection it offers wanes over time
The pharmaceutical company revealed to be in support for booster doses, according to an official media release.
“This is only one estimate, but we do believe this means as you look toward the fall and winter, at minimum we expect the estimated impact of waning immunity would be 600,000 additional cases of COVID-19,”
Moderna President Stephen Hoge said
The data stands in stark contrast with data from several recent studies that suggested Moderna’s vaccine protection lasts longer than a similar shots of the Pfizer vaccine.
What makes the effectiveness of Moderna different from the Pfizer shot?
Experts say that the difference is likely due to Moderna’s higher dose of messenger RNA, known as mRNA, and the slightly longer interval between the first and second shots.
Both vaccines proved to be exceedingly effective at preventing illness in their large Phase three studies.
But the recent analysis, however, showed higher rates of infection among people vaccinated roughly 13 months ago compared with those vaccinated roughly eight months ago – meaning the need for booster shots is highly likely to become recommended.
That recent analysis period was between the dates of July-August, when Delta was the predominant strain.