Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine reportedly creates a strong immune response in older and younger adults — a positive sign since vaccines often don’t work well with older adults, according to USA Today.
What’s going on?
A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine created an immune system response that was strong in those older than 56 and those between 18 and 55.
- “This is very promising but it’s also somewhat surprising,” David Dowling, an immunologist and professor at Harvard Medical School, told USA Today.
The study found there were “side effects roughly on par with high-dose flu shots,” according to Reuters.
Researchers from Emory University in Atlanta reviewed two groups of 20 people aged 56 to 70. Scientists reviewed the group’s immune system response with those between 18 and 55, USA Today reports.
- The immune response was similar between the groups.
What this means
Moderna saw its stock rise after the results of this study became public. The company’s stock has jumped 25.1% in 2020, mostly due to the fact it is helping to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.