The coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. biotech firm Moderna is effective against the highly contagious delta variant, the company said in a release Tuesday, June 29, offering some hope even as the World Health Organization warned that the variant has now spread to at least 96 countries, The Washington Post reports.

Moderna said that blood samples from fully vaccinated individuals produced antibodies against multiple variants and that researchers measured only a “modest reduction in neutralizing titers” against the particularly virulent delta, which was first identified in India.

“As we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we are proactive as the virus evolves,” Moderna chief executive Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants.”

The company, whose vaccine uses messenger RNA technology and requires two doses, submitted the data to the bioRxiv preprint server ahead of peer review. Moderna last month also signed an agreement to provide the United Nations-backed Covax initiative, which seeks the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines worldwide, with 500 million doses beginning later this year.