CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - Cambridge-based Moderna announced Thursday that they believe a booster shot will be necessary prior to the winter season in order to prevent breakthrough COVID-19 cases.
The biotechnology company found in its Phase 3 COVE study that its mRNA-1273 vaccine is 93 percent effective through six months after the second dose.
However, they also projected that the increase force of infection resulting from the delta variant, non-pharmaceutical intervention fatigue, and seasonal effects, such as moving indoors, will lead to an increase of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, according to Moderna’s second quarter earnings presentation.
“While we see durable Phase 3 efficacy through 6 months, we expect neutralizing titers will continue to wane and eventually impact vaccine efficacy,” the presentation read.
Moderna is conducting a study of three different mRNA booster candidates.
Phase 2 of that study showed that the booster candidates induced robust antibody responses against the wildtype D614G COVID-19 strain and against important variants of concern including Gamma (P.1); Beta (B.1.351); and Delta (B.1.617.2).
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