Moderna announced on Thursday that its COVID-19 vaccine is around 93 % effective six months after the second dosage, indicating little change from the 94 percent efficacy recorded in its initial clinical trial.
This contrasts positively to statistics released last week by Pfizer and BioNTech, which stated that the efficacy of their vaccine declined approximately 6% every two months, down to around 84 percent six months after the second dose.
Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are both based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
“Our COVID-19 vaccine is demonstrating 93 percent durable effectiveness after six months, but we understand that the Delta version is a serious new danger, so we must stay vigilant,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said.
Read Also: Justice Qazi Faez Isa Recovers From Covid-19
However, a booster dosage will be required before the winter season since antibody levels are expected to decrease, according to Moderna.
The remark comes as public health authorities across the world argue whether more dosages are safe, effective, and required in the face of the coronavirus’s fast-spreading Delta form.
Meanwhile, Pfizer plans to seek approval for a third injection later this month, and several nations, such as Israel, have begun or intend to begin giving doses to the elderly or fragile.
Separately, Moderna reported that its trials of three distinct booster candidates elicited strong antibody responses against variations such as the Gamma, Beta, and Delta variants.
According to the study, neutralizing antibody levels after the boost approximated those seen after the second dose.
Moderna has acquired vaccination contracts totaling $20 billion in sales for this year and plans to produce between 800 million and 1 billion doses.
It has sales agreements worth $12 billion in 2022, with an additional $8 billion in sales options, and plans to generate between 2 billion and 3 billion doses next year.
In December, Moderna’s vaccine was approved for emergency use in adults in the United States, and it has subsequently been certified for emergency or conditional use in adults in over 50 countries.
It reported second-quarter revenues of $4.4 billion, which were slightly higher than the $4.2 billion predicted by Refinitiv’s poll of ten analysts. Its COVID-19 shot is the company’s first authorized product, and sales were just $67 million the previous year.
Moderna earned $2.78 billion, or $6.46 per share, above analysts’ forecasts of $5.96 per share for the quarter.