The American pharmacist Moderna said on Monday (20) it is confident that the booster of its vaccine will be effective against the omicron variant, after laboratory results described as “reassuring”.
“We can count on this vaccine in the next increase in cases by omicron”, guaranteed the president of Moderna, Stephen Hoge, in videoconference.
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However, he added that tests showed that, after just two doses, protection against the new variant was “substantially less” than against the initial covid-19 strain.
A full dose of Moderna’s vaccine as a booster also provides more antibody protection against omicron than the currently approved injection of just half (50 micrograms), according to the announced results.
The studies measured levels of omicron neutralizing antibodies in blood samples from 40 people who had low levels of these antibodies before receiving the booster.
The current recommendation is 100 micrograms as the first and second doses of Moderna’s vaccine, followed by a booster dose of 50 micrograms.
Antibody measurements were taken 29 days after study participants received the third dose, half of them 50 micrograms and the other half 100 micrograms.
Moderna says its preliminary data show a 37-fold increase in antibody levels against omicron at the 50-microgram dose and an 83-fold increase when the dose is doubled.
The company’s executive director, Stéphane Bancel, classified these results as “reassuring” and added that they continue to develop a specific vaccine against omicron.
Hoge, in turn, added: “We are cautiously optimistic from the data presented here that the authorized 50 microgram booster should provide good protection against the omicron variant.”
“We believe that in the future it will be necessary to make seasonal reinforcements”, he added.
Clinical trials for a specific vaccine will begin soon, in early 2022. Moderna is planning a vaccine against several strains of concern at the same time to amplify immunity.
Experts urge that laboratory studies be interpreted with caution, noting that real-world evidence is needed to determine the level of protection against disease transmission and development.
Last week, a field study in South Africa showed that two injections of a vaccine with messenger RNA technology from Pfizer-BioNTech offered about 70% protection against severe cases of omicron disease.
In an interview published Monday by the newspaper Le Monde, BioNTech Executive Director Ugur Sahin said that after the third dose, the booster appeared to provide 70 to 75 percent protection against any form of the disease.
Sahin added that his company could offer a specific vaccine against omicron from March, pending approval by regulators.
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