COVID-19. Moderna vaccine produces antibodies against the Delta variant

“Moderna vaccination from covid-19 gives credits [um teste laboratorial que avalia a concentração] neutralization against all tested variants, including additional beta variants (…) and delta variants, ”reads a statement issued by biotechnology.

According to the note, the vaccine produced by Moderna also produces antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants identified in Nigeria, Uganda and Angola.

To conclude that the drug was effective, the statement said, “samples from eight participants taken one week later” were collected after the second dose.

The analysis revealed “minimal effect of neutralizing titers against the alpha variant”, as well as “a moderate decrease in neutralizing titers against the delta variant”.

Moderna added that it is developing a strategy to deal with “emerging options”.

Microbiologist João Paulo Gomes said on Tuesday that the delta variant is 60% more transmissible, has twice the likelihood of getting a person to hospital, but vaccines have proven effective in preventing serious diseases.

In a conversation with Lusa, National Institutes of Health specialist Dr. Ricardo Jorge said, based on reports from researchers in the United Kingdom (this variant has a prevalence of 90% in England) and data from British health authorities, that this delta is transmitted 60% more than the alpha variant (originally known as the UK), and the likelihood of a person being admitted to hospital is twice as high, but the vaccine results are highlighted as “promising and encouraging.”

“With two doses of vaccine [AstraZeneca], protection from hospitalization is about 92%, “- said the specialist, adding:” For those who have been fully vaccinated, this degree of protection against hospitalization ranges from 92% to 96%. [vacina Pfizer]that’s great. “

“The motto is to vaccinate,” he insisted.

According to the latest report on the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal issued by INSA, the delta variant, originally associated with India, had a “galloping increase” in the relative frequency at the national level, going from 4% in May to 55.6% in June. but its distribution “is still very uneven across regions.”

According to INSA, the distribution of the delta variant ranges from 3.2% (Azores) to 94.5% (Alentejo), but taking into account the trend observed from May to June, “this variant is expected to become dominant throughout the national territory over the next few weeks. “

According to the institute, of the total number of analyzed sequences of delta variants, 46 have an additional mutation K417N in the Spike protein.

However, he emphasizes that about 50% of these cases are limited to just two local transmission chains, which suggests that their distribution in the community is still limited, with a relative frequency of this profile (Delta + K417N) in the national sample in June of 2.3% …

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