00:20
Moderna says the immunity from the Covid-19 vaccine should last for at least a year
Immunity to Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine should last at least a year, the company said at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference Monday.
The drug company said it was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology it used would be well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in a handful of countries.
The company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, uses synthetic mRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.
Moderna said in December it would conduct tests to confirm the vaccine’s activity against each strain.
The company said Monday it expects to deliver between 600 million and 1 billion doses of its vaccine by 2021 and forecasts vaccine-related sales of $ 11.7 billion for the year, based on purchase agreements signed with governments.
“The team is very comfortable with the track record we now have … that we are on track to deliver at least 600 million doses,” said Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel.
00:00
Despite vaccines, no immunity from the Covid herd in 2021: WHO
Despite the introduction of vaccines against Covid-19 in a number of countries, the World Health Organization warned Monday that herd immunity would not be achieved this year.
AFP: Countries around the world are looking forward to vaccines that will finally allow a return to normalcy in the coming months.
But Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, warned that it will take time to produce and administer adequate doses to stop the spread of the virus.
“We will not reach levels of population or herd immunity by 2021,” she told a virtual press conference from WHO headquarters in Geneva, stressing the need to continue with measures such as physical distance, hand washing and carrying. from a mask to the pandemic.
She praised the “incredible progress” made by scientists who have managed to develop the unthinkable to develop not one but several safe and effective vaccines against a brand new virus in less than a year.
But, she stressed, the rollout “takes time.”
“It takes time to scale up the production of doses, not just millions, but here we are talking billions,” she noted, calling on people to “be a little patient.”
Swaminathan stressed that eventually “the vaccines will come. They go to all countries. “
“But in the meantime, we must not forget that there are measures that work,” she said.
It would be necessary to continue to take action in the areas of public health and social affairs to stop the transfer “at least for the rest of this year”.
23:31
Overview
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage with me on the coronavirus pandemic, Helen Sullivan.
As the World Health Organization warned that global herd immunity would not be achieved by 20201, Moderna Inc said immunity against those who receive the company’s Covid-19 vaccine should last at least a year.
The drug company said it was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology it used would be well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in a handful of countries.
More about this shortly. Here are the most important developments of the past hours:
- The President of Portugal tests positive for Covid-19. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is seeking a second term in an election on Jan. 24, has tested positive for the coronavirus but has shown no symptoms so far, his office said.
- ‘Reckless’ relaxation of the Christmas rule responsible for the terrible wave of Covid in Ireland. The country has the world’s highest infection rate, with critics blaming socializing during the holidays.
- Lebanon is tightening Covid-19 restrictions as infections increase. Lebanon has tightened up coronavirus measures by imposing a total lockdown for an 11-day period and introducing new travel restrictions to stop an unprecedented rise in infections.
- Spain sees a record number of infections over the weekend. Spain reported a record increase in the number of coronavirus infections over the weekend and the number of new cases measured in the past 14 days rose from 350 on Friday to 436 per 100,000 people on Monday.
- Judgment unlikely from WHO team investigating Covid’s origins in China. Expectations have to be set very low that a team of experts from the World Health Organization investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic will reach a definitive conclusion from their maiden trip to China, said a health expert affiliated with the WHO.
- US legislator tests positive for Covid-19 after the Capitol siege. A 75-year-old US lawmaker tested positive for Covid-19 after being incarcerated to prevent a crowd from attacking the US Capitol last week, saying she believed she was exposed while hiding with maskless colleagues.
- CDC says nine million Americans are now vaccinated. The 8,987,322 people who received the first of two injections represent less than a third of the total doses given out to states by the government, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo test positive for Covid-19. The animals tested positive for the coronavirus after showing symptoms of the disease, which is believed to be the first known transmission of the virus to monkeys.
- Dubai removed from the UK travel corridor list. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on Monday that the United Arab Emirates will be taken off the list and that anyone arriving from the country from 4am on Tuesday will be subject to the new restrictions.