00:20
Moderna says immunity to Covid-19 vaccine to last at least one year
The immunity of Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine is expected to last at least one year, the company said at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference on Monday.
The drugmaker said it was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology used was suitable for implanting a vaccine based on the new coronavirus variant that has emerged in some countries.
The company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, uses synthetic mRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognize and neutralize it.
Moderna said in December that it would run tests to confirm vaccine activity against any strain.
The company said on Monday that it expects to deliver between 600 million doses and 1 billion doses of its vaccine by 2021 and expects vaccine-related sales of $ 11.7 billion for the year, based on signed pre-purchase agreements. with governments.
“The team feels very comfortable with the track record we have now … that we are on track to deliver at least 600 million doses,” said CEO Stéphane Bancel.
00:00
Despite vaccines, no immunity from Covid herd in 2021: WHO
Despite vaccines against Covid-19 being launched in several countries, the World Health Organization warned on Monday that collective immunity would not be achieved this year.
AFP: Countries around the world are looking forward to vaccines that will finally allow a return to normality in the coming months.
But WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, warned that it will take time to produce and administer sufficient doses to halt the spread of the virus.
“We will not achieve any level of population immunity or collective immunity in 2021,” she said at a virtual press conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva, emphasizing the need to continue measures such as physical distance, hand washing and wearing a mask to control the pandemic.
She praised the “incredible progress” made by scientists who have achieved the unthinkable of developing not one, but several safe and effective vaccines against an entirely new virus in less than a year.
But, she emphasized, the launch “takes time”.
“It takes time to scale the production of doses, not just in the millions, but here we are talking in the billions”, she pointed out, urging people to “be a little patient”.
Swaminathan emphasized that, eventually, “vaccines will arrive. They will go to all countries. “
“But in the meantime, we must not forget that there are measures that work,” she said.
There would be a need to continue taking public health and social measures to stop transmission “at least until the rest of this year”.
23:31
resume
Hello, welcome to the live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me today, Helen Sullivan.
As the World Health Organization warned that global herd immunity would not be achieved in 20201, Moderna Inc said that the immunity of those receiving the company’s Covid-19 vaccine should last at least one year.
The drugmaker said it was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology used was suitable for implanting a vaccine based on the new coronavirus variant that has emerged in some countries.
More on that soon. In the meantime, here are the main developments from the past few hours:
- The President of Portugal tests positive for Covid-19. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is seeking a second term in the January 24 elections, tested positive for coronavirus, but so far has shown no symptoms, his office said.
- The relaxation of “reckless” Christmas rules is blamed for the terrible rise of Covid in Ireland. O çThe country has the highest infection rate in the world, with critics blaming socialization during the festive period.
- Lebanon tightens Covid-19 restrictions as infections soar. Lebanon reinforced measures against the coronavirus, imposing a total blockade for a period of 11 days and introducing new restrictions on travel to contain an unprecedented increase in infections.
- Spain records a record increase in infections over the weekend. Spain reported a record increase in coronavirus infections over the weekend and the number of new cases measured in the past 14 days rose to 436 per 100,000 people on Monday, from 350 on Friday.
- Unlikely verdict by the WHO team exploring Covid’s origins in China. Expectations should be very low that a team of experts from the World Health Organization who are investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic will reach any definitive conclusion on their first trip to China, said a health expert affiliated with WHO.
- US lawmaker tests positive for Covid-19 after the Capitol siege. A 75-year-old American lawmaker tested positive for Covid-19 after being locked up to prevent a crowd from attacking the U.S. Capitol last week, saying she believed she had been exposed while sheltering there with unmasked colleagues.
- The CDC says that nine million Americans are vaccinated. The 8,987,322 people who received the first of the two vaccines, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represent less than a third of the total doses distributed to states by the government.
- Two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo test positive for Covid-19. The animals tested positive for the coronavirus after showing symptoms of the disease, in what is believed to be the first known transmission of the virus to monkeys.
- Dubai has been removed from the UK travel corridor list. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on Monday that the United Arab Emirates are being removed from the list and whoever arrives from the country after 4 am on Tuesday will be subject to the new restrictions.