Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine seems to create an immune reaction that is as strong in the elderly as in young adults, which is a positive sign because many vaccines also work in the elderly.
A small study published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the Modern COVID-19 vaccine provoked an immune formula reaction that was almost as strong in others over the age of 56 as in adults over the age of 18 to 55.
“It’s very promising, but it’s also surprising,” said David Dowling, an immunologist and professor at Harvard Medical School who studies vaccines.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people over the age of 50 to 64 are more likely to be hospitalized and 30 times more likely to die of COVID. -19 that the elderly 18 to 29 years old. People between the age of 65 and 74 are five times more likely to be hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die. The older the person, the greater the threat.
Moderna’s study was conducted through researchers from Emory University in Atlanta and included two teams of 20 others each, one made up of others over the age of 56 to 70 and the other 71 years of age or older. Participants enrolled in Atlanta, Seattle and Bethesda, Maryland. The effects were compared to the effects reported in the past in other vaccinated elderly people aged 18 to 55.
“The immune responses were very similar to those of young adults,” said Dr. Evan Anderson, professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine and director of the article.
Moderna’s mNR-1273 experimental vaccine is recently found in Phase 3 clinical trials in the United States. It is believed to be a leader among the 4 candidate vaccines that have recently been in the terminal testing phase. There is still no knowledge of how it protects other vaccines. coVID-19 people.
Having a vaccine that gives good results in the elderly can also make a big difference in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. It was feared that an approved vaccine might not work as well in the elderly.
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A person’s immune formula has long weakened as they age.
“With age, our immune reactions are minimized and several other vaccines tend not to paint as well with age. That’s why we have the high-dose flu vaccine for others age 65 and older,” Anderson said. that this dose of one hundred micrograms (of Moderna’s COVID vaccine) is sufficient to generate a similar immune reaction in the elderly is a very pleasant discovery. “
If a higher dose is required for COVID-19, as is the case for some flu vaccines, fewer doses will be available.
There are also fears that some vaccines may not work at all for older adults, limiting their characteristics or forcing them to wait for new vaccines to become available. Another approach, called “ring immunization,” in which the endangered user does not get vaccinated, but everyone around them does, would also require more vaccinations.
The effects do not show whether the experimental vaccine will give other people immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but they are “encouraging,” Anderson said.
The test included only 40 other people and almost all were white, so researchers identified that a larger test population was needed to verify the results. COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on communities of color.