Moderna's vaccine against Covid-19 produced antibodies that persisted 90 days after vaccination, according to a study published Thursday.
The duration of protection is undoubtedly longer, but these are the first data over a period of several months, independently validated by a scientific journal.
Moderna's vaccine against Covid-19 produced antibodies that persisted 90 days after vaccination, good news as its authorization is being studied in several countries, according to the study of 34 participants from the start of clinical trials, published Thursday in the
New England Journal of Medicine
.
The duration of protection is undoubtedly longer, but these are the first data over a period of several months, independently validated by a scientific journal.
Participants will be followed for 13 months to verify longer-term protection, the authors say.
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No serious side effects were observed
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health tested the level of two types of antibodies to the coronavirus 90 days after the second dose of the vaccine, which itself is given 28 days after the first.
They observed a "slight" and expected decrease in the level of antibodies in the vaccinated participants, but at a level that remained high and above the natural immunity observed in former patients recovered from Covid-19.
In addition, no serious side effects were observed in the so-called phase 1 trial, which began in March.
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Vaccine elicits killer cells
Antibodies are only one component of the immune response, along with B (immune memory, antibody production) and T lymphocytes (which kill infected cells).
The researchers note that the data on immune memory cells is not yet known, but previous studies have shown that the vaccine elicits killer cells well.
Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases, told AFP in a recent interview that he was "certain" that the immune memory created by the vaccine would last for some time.
But "we do not know if it will be one, two, three or five years, we do not know," he said.
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A "fairly positive" news
"It's pretty positive news overall," Benjamin Neuman, professor at Texas A&M University, told AFP on Thursday of the new study, noting that even in the elderly the immune response remained. reasonably strong ".