mRNA-1273 Vaccine Given One Year Before Delta Variant Challenge

Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 Lung Protection Present but Delayed in NIAID NHP COVID-19 Vaccine Study Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (gold) within endosomes of a heavily infected nasal Olfactory Epithelial Cell. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Lung Protection Present but Delayed in NIAID NHP COVID-19 Vaccine Study mRNA-1273 Vaccine Given One Year Before Delta Variant Challenge NIAID scientists and colleagues studying the durability of the mRNA-1273 vaccine in the lungs of rhesus macaques have found that one-year after vaccination, protection against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant is present, though the response is delayed in the lung. They also found limited protection in the upper airway in the nasal tissue. The findings point to the need for mRNA-1273 booster vaccination to sustain high-level and rapid protection in the lung and to enhance protection against mild infection in the upper airway. In their study, published in Cell, the scientists immunized the macaques using a two-dose regimen with mRNA 1273, four weeks apart. One year later they challenged the animals with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, which has been the dominant cause of COVID-19 cases for the past several months. They found that the vaccine protected the lungs by day four, but the response was slow compared to prior studies where animals were challenged much closer to the time of vaccination. The authors showed that antibody responses in the lung were increased shortly after challenge with Delta, suggesting this as the mechanism of protection. They also noted reduced SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the blood and lungs of the animals' immune systems 48 weeks after vaccination, highlighting the importance of boosting to sustain immunity and protection, as they have previously reported. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  |  National Institutes of Health Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact Subscriber Help. This service is provided to you at no charge by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).                             This email was sent to myhcistech.healthnews360@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 5601 Fishers Lane · Bethesda, MD 20892 · 1-866-284-4107