Moderna Is Testing a New Version of Its COVID-19 Vaccine That Wouldn ’t Require Ultra-Cold Storage

As safety concerns over COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson–Janssen have led to disruptions in the inoculation efforts of numerous countries relying on those shots, companies like Moderna are attempting to fill the resulting gaps. The Massachusetts-based biotech company announced on April 29 that it is investing billions to boost manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, Spain and the U.S., building enough capacity to produce up to 3 billion doses of its mRNA-based vaccine through 2022. The company’s vaccine technology differs from that of AstraZeneca and J&J, which both use an adenovirus to deliver COVID-19 virus genes to the immune system—and which both have been have been associated with serious, life-threatening—albeit very rare—blood clots. Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, says that some of the wealthier, developed countries are eager to up their orders of the mRNA vaccines (which include both the Moderna shot and one produced by Pfizer/BioNTech). “In the last month or so, in the discussions we have had with heads of state, prime ministers, presidents of countries and health ministers, when governments look at efficacy, safety, manufacturing scalability, and the speed to the next generation of vaccines, what we are hearing loud and clear is that mRNA is the best for the problem at hand,” says Bancel. “And governments around the world want more and more mRNA product.” To meet that need, and ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news