Covid-19 crisis: Sputnik V, Moderna vaccines work against Delta variant

The makers of Moderna and Sputnik V vaccines on Tuesday claimed that their shots produced antibodies against the fast-spreading Delta mutant of coronavirus.

Denis Logunov, deputy director of Russia’s Gamaleya Institute that developed Sputnik V, claimed the vaccine is around 90 per cent effective against the Delta variant, the RIA news agency reported. The shot was previously found by the researchers to be almost 92 per cent effective against the original strain of coronavirus.

Logunov said the Delta variant efficacy figure was calculated based on information from digital medical records and on vaccination records.

American drug firm Moderna, too, said its vaccine produced protective antibodies against the delta variant spreading in the US and many other parts of the world.

Moderna researchers tested blood samples from eight people for antibodies against versions of the spike protein from different coronavirus variants, including delta, which emerged in India. The vaccine “produced neutralising titers against all variants tested,” the company said in a statement. The results were released on the pre-print server bioRxiv.

The protective proteins are called neutralizing antibodies because they’re capable of preventing the virus from entering cells. Compared to the quantity of antibodies produced against the main version of the virus, neutralising antibody levels against the delta variant were reduced by 2.1-fold. 

Fast-spreading Delta variant forces more curbs around the world

The highly contagious virus strain that was first detected in India is becoming dominant in France and Germany, which urged more people to get vaccinated. It has also become the main variant in South Africa’s commercially important Gauteng province. 

Also, close to half of Australia’s population is now in lockdown as it struggles to contain the delta variant.

Hong Kong banned flights from the UK amid rising infections, while Spain took visitors from the country off its restriction-free travel list.