Moderna Finds COVID-19 Vaccine Still Protects Against Emerging Strains

NPR: Moderna Finds COVID-19 Vaccine Still Protects Against Emerging Strains
Moderna says tests show that its COVID-19 vaccine offers protection against new variants of the coronavirus but that the vaccine is more effective against the variant first identified in the U.K. than the one found in South Africa. As a result, Moderna will test booster doses of its vaccine, including one that would be tailored to fight strains that have recently emerged. The newly identified strains have caused alarm, as health officials in the U.K. and South Africa say the strains appear to spread more easily than older variants of the coronavirus. They emerged in recent months, even as vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech raised hopes in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. (Chappell, 1/25)