Moderna's Updated Covid Vaccine Proven Effective Against BA.2.86 Variant

Moderna announced that its latest Covid booster is effective against the BA.2.86 omicron subvariant, which has raised concerns due to its high number of mutations. The booster generated a strong antibody response against BA.2.86, according to Moderna. Although the variant has not yet become widespread in the United States, it has alarmed experts and health officials. The data provided by Moderna has not been reviewed by outside scientists, but the company is the first to release data on the effectiveness of its booster against the new variant. The current surge in Covid cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. is primarily driven by infections with XBB lineage viruses, not the BA.2.86 variant, according to the CDC. Moderna's updated booster, along with boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax, is expected to be authorized by the FDA soon and is designed to target the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant.