Moderna vaccine is effective against delta variant

Moderna vaccine can protect people for at least six months and possibly longer against the delta variant. The new dominant variant of covid-19 known as the delta has been spread widely in the US. Therefore the medical team is seeking evidence of protection beyond six months.

At the peak of response to the second vaccine dose, all individuals had responses to all variants," the team wrote. The earliest test from the participants proves that all the blood samples neutralized all of the worrying variants including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Iota, and Delta. The variant that most likely evades the immunity protection was Beta.

Antibodies don't tell the whole story, the researchers noted. Over time, people grow immune cells called B and T cells that also protect against viruses. Individuals who demonstrate waning immune responses over time are likely to have memory B cells capable of delivering an anamnestic (boost) response to those variants in the or potentially with an additional dose of vaccine," they wrote.

The US Food and Drug Administration has the authority to booster doses for people who had no immune response to the first two doses of vaccines. But US health officials say it is too soon to consider booster doses because of waning immunity.

Scientists believe that there should be an improvement in the durability and protection of the vaccines although it may take some time. 

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