Moderna believes that the new variant escapes the immunity of vaccines

Moderna does not trust the new variant. Although all the pharmaceutical companies have announced that they are working on seeing how the new variant behaves with their vaccine, this company has been the most pessimistic regarding the need for a reformulation of the existing serums. “The variant includes mutations seen in Delta that are believed to increase transmissibility and mutations seen in Beta and Delta that are believed to promote immune escape. The combination represents a significant potential risk to accelerate the decline in immunity, both wild-type and natural. the one induced by vaccines “, they affirm.

Barely 72 hours have passed since the new variant of the coronavirus was known, but there is no longer any country that has not taken extreme precautions. Faced with widespread panic, South Africa is warning that the new strain, which has more mutations than any previously seen, is not dangerous, at least for now. “What we are seeing in South Africa and, remember, I am at the epicenter, it is very weak. For us they are mild cases,” Angelique Coetzee, the doctor who discovered the variant, told the BBC. “I am pretty sure that in the UK,” where two cases have been confirmed, “there is unnecessary panic, although within two weeks I could say otherwise,” she added.

However, in several European countries there is a situation of lack of control of the virus that prevents any relaxation. Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom or Germany already have diagnosed cases of the new variant of the coronavirus and the French authorities assume that they must have a case even though it has not yet been sequenced.

Faced with this situation, the pharmaceutical companies that have a vaccine on the market are already working to see if a reformulation of their serum will be necessary. Although it is very early, because the sanitary reach that this strain may have is not even known, the possibility that a different booster may be needed is urgent. When the vaccine mega-contracts for 2022 with Pfizer and Moderna were signed, the companies were forced to manufacture versions in case of mutations.