Moderna Inc., MRNA.O, said Monday that the booster dose of its Coronavirus vaccine, COVID-19, appeared to protect against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant in laboratory tests.
He added that the current version of the vaccine would continue to be Moderna’s “first line of defense against Omicron.”
The vaccine manufacturer said the decision to focus on the current vaccine, mRNA-1273, was driven in part by how quickly the newly discovered variant is spreading.
The company said it still plans to develop a vaccine specifically to protect against Omicron, which it hopes to advance to clinical trials in 2022.
Moderna’s chief medical officer, Dr. Paul Burton, said in an interview that “what we have available at the moment is 1273.
“It is very effective and extremely safe. I believe it will protect people during the upcoming vacation period and during these winter months, when we will see the most severe pressure from Omicron. “
The company said a two-dose course of its vaccine generated low neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant, but a 50-microgram booster dose increased neutralizing antibodies against the variant 37-fold.
He added that a higher 100-microgram booster dose of the same vaccine raised antibody levels even higher, more than 80 times pre-booster levels.
The data, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, analyzed blood from people who had been vaccinated against a pseudovirus designed to look like the Omicron variant.
It is similar to the data last analyzed by America’s leading infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci.
Burton said it would be up to governments and regulators to assess whether they want the enhanced level of protection that a 100-microgram dose could confer.
The company said the 100 microgram dose was generally safe and well tolerated, although there was a trend towards slightly more frequent adverse reactions.
Moderna also tested the vaccine’s effectiveness compared to its booster propellants that target multiple previous variants of concern and said the results were similar.
US regulators authorized the 50-microgram booster of Moderna’s vaccine in October.
The first two injections of Moderna’s vaccine are 100 micrograms.
Both the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer (PFE.N) / BioNTech vaccine have been linked to rare cases of heart inflammation, particularly in young men.
Several studies have suggested that Moderna’s vaccine is likely to cause heart inflammation at a higher rate.
The World Health Organization said on Saturday that Omicron, a highly contagious variant first detected last month in southern Africa and Hong Kong, has spread around the world and been reported in 89 countries.
He said the number of Omicron cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, but noted that much is still unknown about the variant, including the severity of the disease it causes.
Reuters / NAN
