GOOD NEWS ON VACCINE FRONT

WASHINGTON: Modeswrna said on Wednesday that its Covid-19 vaccine has induced immune responses in older adults, bringing hope.

WASHINGTON: Moderna said on Wednesday that its experimental Covid-19 vaccine has induced immune responses in older adults similar to those in younger participants, offering hope it will be effective in people considered to be at high risk for severe complications from the coronavirus disease.

The company is one of the leading contenders in the race to develop a vaccine against the virus. Its candidate, MRNA1273, is in late-stage human trials, testing its ability to prevent infection.

The latest data from an early phase one study includes an analysis from 20 additional people detailing how the vaccine performed in older adults.

The analysis looked at subjects given the 100 microgram dose being tested in the much larger phase three trial. Moderna said the immune responses in those aged between ages 56 and 70, above age 70 and those 18 to 55-years-old were similar.

Health officials have been concerned about whether vaccine candidates would work in older people, whose immune systems do not respond strongly to vaccines.

THERE’S RISK OF YOUNG INFECTING OLD: W.H.O.

GENEVA:THE World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief for Europe has warned that Covid-19 is a “tornado with a long tail” and that increased case counts among young people could be passed on to more vulnerable older people and cause an uptick in deaths.

Hans Kluge said younger people are likely to come into closer contact with the elderly as the weather cools in Europe.

The WHO official’s comments came as the number of cases worldwide crossed 24 million, and fatalities surpassed 824,000.

“We don’t want to do unnecessary predictions, but this is definitely one of the options: that at one point, there would be more hospitalisations and an uptick in mortality,” Kluge told reporters from Copenhagen, the WHO Europe headquarters.