00:00 Drugmaker Moderna on Wednesday said its updated COVID-19 vaccine will likely be effective
00:06 against the highly mutated BA-286 subvariant of the coronavirus, based on info from clinical
00:12 trial data.
00:13 According to the company, its shot generated an 8.7-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies
00:19 in humans against BA-286, which is being tracked by the World Health Organization and the U.S.
00:24 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
00:26 BA-286 has now been detected in Switzerland and South Africa, as well as Israel, Denmark,
00:32 the U.S. and Britain, according to a WHO official, raising fears of a resurgence of infections.
00:38 While it is important to monitor the variant, several experts told Reuters it is unlikely
00:43 to cause a wave of severe disease and death because of immune defenses built up worldwide
00:48 from mass vaccination and prior infection.
00:50 Moderna said it had shared the new finding on its vaccine with regulators and submitted
00:55 it for peer-reviewed publication.
00:57 The retooled shot is yet to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but
01:01 is expected to be available later this month or in early October.
