Moderna says vaccine effective against Delta variant, authorized in India as well

On Tuesday, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna announced that the COVID-19 vaccine has shown promising results in the lab setting against multiple coronavirus variants, including the delta variant first reported in India.

Although the data has not been peer-reviewed, the company says that the results- based on the blood serum of eight participants one week after both the doses had been injected- are promising. Furthermore, there is speculation that the results may not reflect the performance of the vaccine in the real world against the variants.

Nonetheless, the market shares of the biotech company gained a significant bump of 6% post the announcement.

“We remain committed to studying emerging variants, generating data, and sharing it as it becomes available,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a press release. “These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants.”

Moderna’s announcement coincides with WHO official’s emphasis on vaccinated individuals continuing to practice safety measures and norms due to the delta variant. It also comes on the same day of the Moderna vaccine’s authorization in India, the biggest victim of the delta variant.

The delta variant has been reportedly found in 92 countries across the globe, including the United States, and is expected to become the dominant variant worldwide. Within the U.S., cases of the delta variant increase two folds biweekly.

Vaccines manufactured by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson have shown high effectiveness in the prevention of the virus, preventing severe disease, and reducing the death count.

Concerningly, the delta variants have shown resistance and the vaccines have been slightly less effective, leading to worry amongst WHO officials, fearing that the vaccinated population may be the cause for further transmission.