Moderna announced Monday that a third dose of its vaccine against COVID-19 appears to provide significant protection against the Omicron variant of the respiratory disease.
However, the biotechnology company said it will also continue to develop an Omicron-specific booster candidate which should enter clinical trials in early 2022.
Modern said that its currently authorized booster shot can :-“boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels,” which it described as “reassuring.”
However, it also said that a double doze of the booster shot — 100 micrograms, rather than the approved 50 micrograms — was significantly more effective. A 100-microgram booster dose increased neutralizing antibody levels “approximately 83-fold,” according to preliminary data.
Without a booster shot, Moderna’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, was found to be less effective against the fast-spreading Omicron variant, generating low neutralizing antibodies, the company said.
The data comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that Omicron cases can double every 1.5 to three days in areas of local spread.
The United Kingdom recorded its highest daily case levels since the start of the pandemic in the last week, and the Netherlands imposed full lockdown measures over the weekend to help halt the spread of the disease and its variants.
