Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine defends against delta variant: study

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine resulted in antibody activity against variants, including the highly transmissible delta variant, six months following the second dose, a study found.

The study, led by the National Institutes of Health, was published in the Science journal late Thursday, drawing from an analysis of blood samples from 24 participants across several age groups (18-55, 55-70, and 71+), finding that 96% of samples neutralized the delta variant. However, neutralizing activity was lowest against the B.1.351 variant first detected in South Africa, with 54% of samples neutralizing the variant, or a 1.5-fold reduction and 3-fold reduction, respectively.