KATHMANDU: US-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna said on Monday that its vaccine is apparently effective in neutralising the UK and South Africa variants of COVID-19.

The company took to twitter publicising that the synthesised vaccine appears to effective against the newer variants of the COVID-19 causing pathogens.

Related Articles

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2020 file photo, Thabisle khlatshwayo, who received her first shot for a COVID-19 vaccine trial, receives her second AstraZeneca shot at a vaccine trial facility set at Soweto's Chris Sani Baragwanath Hospital outside Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa suspended on Sunday Feb. 7, 2021 plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn't effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country. Photo: AP

South Africa scraps AstraZeneca vaccine, will give J&J jabs

A vial and sryinge are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken on January 11, 2021. File Photo: Reuters

South Africa holds off AstraZeneca vaccination over doubts on its effectiveness against coronavirus variant

It has been learnt that Moderna is the first vaccine maker to announce a trial for a booster against the new variants, after having its initial jab authorised across the world including in the US, the EU and the UK.

In a recent report published by the Financial Times, the company has, however, warned that the neutralising antibody response to 501. V2, which is the UK-variant of COVID-19, was sixfold lower than to the original variant, raising concerns that immunity to it may wane significantly, specially among the elderly people.