One of the boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is prepared for shipment to the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, USA, December 20, 2020.
Paul Sancya | Reuters
Moderna plans to test a booster shot of its Covid-19 vaccine a year after the first two-dose immunization, as the duration of protection against the brand-new vaccines is still unclear.
According to a company presentation this week, the biotech company plans to start the trial in July. According to an email shared by one of those people, the clinical trial sites have already started contacting participants in previous studies.
“From what we’ve seen so far, I think our expectation is that the vaccination will take at least a year,” said Dr. Tal Zaks, Moderna’s chief medical officer, told investors and analysts at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference on Monday. “As far as you need a booster shot, we’ll make a data-based recommendation, and for that we need to get the data.”
The first participants in Moderna’s human clinical trials received their injection in mid-March; a second was given four weeks later. Since the previous studies tested multiple doses of the vaccine, those with doses lower than the final allowance – 100 micrograms – would receive boosters earlier, while those with 100 micrograms or higher would receive their booster after the year, according to an email to participants .
The booster currently being planned is the same version of the vaccine on the market, but Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel said it may be necessary to modify the vaccine to cover new variants in the coming years .
“I think this is going to be a market like the flu,” he told CNBC. Moderna has also recently started a seasonal flu vaccine program.
The booster study for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine will evaluate both safety and how much of an immune response an extra injection generates a year later, Bancel said at the conference this week.