Moderna’s Updated Covid-19 Vaccine Effectively Targets Widely Circulating Variants

Moderna announced that preliminary clinical trial data confirm its updated COVID-19 vaccine for the fall 2023 vaccination season showed a significant boost in neutralizing antibodies against EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 variants. These results suggest that Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine may effectively target the expected circulating variants of COVID-19 during the upcoming vaccination season.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified the EG.5, or “Eris,” strain as a variant of interest. EG.5 is now the dominant variant in the U.S. according to the CDC while also accounting for a growing proportion of cases across the globe. The FL 1.5.1, or “Fornax,” variant is also beginning to surge in parts of the U.S.
“These new results, which show that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a robust immune response against the rapidly spreading EG.5 and FL 1.5.1 strains and reflects our updated vaccine’s ability to address emerging COVID-19 threats,” said Stephen Hoge, M.D., President of Moderna. “Moderna is committed to leveraging our mRNA technology to provide health security around the world.”

In addition to demonstrating a human immune response against the EG.5 and FL 1.5.1 strains, Moderna previously presented the only clinical trial data confirming that its updated COVID-19 vaccine showed robust human immune responses across the key circulating XBB strains at the June 2023 FDA VRBPAC. With this new trial data, Moderna has now confirmed an antibody response against current strains of concern.

Moderna has submitted its updated COVID-19 vaccine to the FDA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulators around the world. Pending authorization, it will be ready for fall vaccination with sufficient global supply. (Source: Moderna Website, 17 August, 2023)