Moderna Says Its Booster Shot Against COVID-19 Variants Is on the Way

The Hill reports that Moderna Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks this week said the company should be able to supply booster shots for COVID-19 variants by the end of 2021, as initial testing indicates the boosters supply a confident level of protection. The U.S. National Institutes of Health last week started testing a Moderna booster against a variant first found in South Africa. The mutation seems to be more infectious than previous strains and could possibly circumvent some of the safeguards from therapeutics and vaccines, although preliminary evidence has shown current vaccines provide an adequate level of protection against variants. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci said, "NIAID has continued its partnership with Moderna to evaluate this variant vaccine candidate should there be a need for an updated vaccine."