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Moderna vaccine effective against COVID-19 variant found in SA

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American pharmaceutical company Moderna says its latest research shows that its vaccine is effective against the COVID-19 variants found in South Africa and the United Kingdom.

It says the dose vaccine is expected to be protective on the identified and emerging strains. Many scientists have been vocally concerned that the developed vaccines may not be able to neutralize the virus.

Moderna’s announcement comes as President Joe Biden is expected to formally announce a travel ban on South Africa due to the v.501y variant first identified in this country.

The company says it will add another dose to make the vaccine a three-shot regimen in order to boost the effectiveness of it against variants.

Research showed that the vaccine was less effective against the v.5021 strain compared to other variants. Scientists have since designed a booster dose specific to South Africa’s strain. Tests on this regimen will be put to tests in coming months.

New COVID-19 variant identified by scientists in South Africa

Severe allergic reactions to Moderna vaccine appear rare: CDC report

Severe allergic reactions to Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine appear to be quite rare, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday, after over 4 million people had received their first dose.

Based on the data, the CDC said anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction, occurred at a rate of 2.5 cases per 1 million shots administered.

The agency cautioned that the risk of anaphylaxis was difficult to compare to non–COVID-19 vaccines because it is still so early in the vaccination program.

As of January 10, there were 10 cases of anaphylaxis reported among 4.04 million people who received their first doses of Moderna’s two-shot vaccine, according to the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The CDC said the characteristics of severe allergic reactions to Moderna’s vaccine were similar to those reported with the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE.

Earlier this month, the CDC reported severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech shot occurred at a rate of 11.1 per 1 million vaccinations.

For both vaccines, symptoms presented within minutes after vaccination and were more common among women. Many of those who suffered anaphylaxis after receiving either vaccine had a history of allergies or allergic reactions, and several had an anaphylaxis episode in the past, the CDC said.

The agency said locations administering COVID-19 vaccines should screen recipients, have necessary supplies and staff members to manage anaphylaxis, and immediately treat suspected cases with an epinephrine injection, the same drug in EpiPens.

As of Sunday, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases identified in South Africa is at 1 412 986 with 8 147 new cases identified since the last report.

The South African Health Department has reported the total number of tests conducted to date at 7 993 126 with 46 119 new tests conducted since the last report.

The recoveries now stand at 1 230 520, representing a recovery rate of 87%.

The country has also reported a further 300 COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total deaths to 40 874. – additional reporting by Reuters

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