MODERNA said today its updated Covid-19 booster, which was pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration, performed well against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant.

Human trial data showed the shot produced an 8.7-fold increase in neutralising antibodies against the variant, also known as Pirola, which had been designated a variant under monitoring, said the United States biotech company. It said it was submitting the results to a peer-reviewed journal and has shared it with regulatory authorities.

“These data confirm our updated Covid-19 vaccine will continue to be an important tool for protection as we head into the fall vaccination season,” said Moderna president Stephen Hoge in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new variant might be more capable of causing infection in people who have previously been vaccinated or had the disease.

Moderna’s news followed encouraging data from independent labs around the world.

Experiments by Peking University in China, Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, and Harvard University showed both existing vaccines and prior infection conferred a degree of protection.

Pirola had more than 30 mutations in its spike protein compared to the currently dominant XBB.1.5 strain. This raised concerns among scientists because it was a similar number to the mutations between the Delta and Omicron variants during the height of the pandemic. – AFP, September 6, 2023.