Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine should work against the Delta variant

• Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine should protect against the Delta variant of the virus.
• In a statement on Tuesday the company said its vaccine should also protect against other variants.
• The Delta variant has been surging across the US in recent weeks.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine should work against the Delta variant of the virus, the company said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

"We remain committed to studying emerging variants, generating data and sharing it as it becomes available. These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants," Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said in the statement. "These findings highlight the importance of continuing to vaccinate populations with an effective primary series vaccine."

Moderna's statement said its COVID-19 vaccine should protect against not only Delta, but also the other lineage variants of B.1.617 as well as the Beta variant, first identified in South Africa; A.23.1 and A.VOI.V2 variants, first identified in Uganda and Angola; and the Eta variant, first identified in Nigeria.

The Delta variant, which was first identified in India, has been found to be able to evade some COVID-19 vaccines and is surging across the United States.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.