RELATED: If You Got Moderna, This Is How Your Antibodies Respond to the Delta Variant.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb According to the Aug. 5 statement from Moderna, the company’s study found that its COVID vaccine demonstrates 93 percent effectiveness six months after immunization. The company also noted that boosters of the vaccine showed a “robust antibody responses to COVID-19 variants of concern.” Although the Moderna vaccine continues to be durable for six months, the company says they “expect neutralizing titers will continue to wane and eventually impact vaccine efficacy.” Due to this and the presence of the Delta variant, Moderna said, “we believe [a] dose three booster will likely be necessary prior to the winter season.” Part of the conversation about boosters centers on the challenges posed by the Delta variant. In its Aug. 5 statement, Moderna addressed the added complication of the Delta variant, which now accounts for 93 percent of new cases in the U.S. “We are pleased that our COVID-19 vaccine is showing durable efficacy of 93 percent through six months, but recognize that the Delta variant is a significant new threat, so we must remain vigilant,” CEO of Moderna Stéphane Bancel said in the statement. RELATED: If You Have This, Your Pfizer or Moderna Vaccine Is Less Effective, Study Finds. On June 29, Moderna released a statement detailing how its COVID vaccine stacked up against the Delta variant specifically. While the vaccine showed promising results, the antibody response was notably lower than the response to the original strain of the virus that the vaccine was targeted to fight. When the vaccine was combating the Delta variant, it had a 2.1-fold reduction in antibody response. Although the protection against the Delta variant is not as robust as the protection the vaccine affords against the original strain, Bancel is confident it’s still substantial. “These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants,” Bancel said in a statement in response to the June results. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. The companies behind the two other COVID vaccines in the U.S. have also continued to keep the public informed about how the effectiveness of their vaccines has shifted as time has gone on. In Pfizer’s second-quarter report for 2021, released at the end of July, the company said its vaccine drops to about 84 percent effective six months after the second dose. In statement on July 1, Johnson & Johnson said its COVID vaccine continues to provide protection for at least two-thirds of a year. They did not, however, say explicitly how much. The “durability of the immune response [of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine] lasted through at least eight months, the length of time evaluated to date,” according to the company’s statement. RELATED: Pfizer Just Said Doing This “Strongly” Boosts Protection From Delta Variant.
