Biotechnology company Moderna has announced that first participants have been vaccinated in the Phase 1 study of mRNA-1283 -- a potential refrigerator-stable Covid-19 vaccine that could facilitate easier distribution and administration, especially in developing countries. Moderna said the new Covid-19 vaccine candidate could be stored and shipped in refrigerators instead of freezers.

"Our investments in our mRNA platform have enabled us to develop this next generation vaccine candidate, which is a potential refrigerator-stable vaccine that could facilitate easier distribution and administration in a wider range of settings, including potential for developing countries," said Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. mRNA-1283 encodes for the portions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein critical for neutralisation, specifically the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) and N-terminal Domain (NTD).