Moderna has become the first vaccine maker to produce a shot targeted at the virus variant discovered in South Africa and is shipping the doses to the US National Institutes of Health to prepare for a clinical trial.
The Boston-based biotech is taking a three-pronged strategy to try to address concerns that its vaccine, along with several others, is less effective against the 501.V2 strain.
The company has already begun giving previous trial participants a half-dose booster of of the existing shot to top up their immune response. It has now created a new vaccine booster targeted to the variant, also at half a dose. Anthony Fauci’s team at the NIH will begin testing it in phase 1 trial participants within weeks.