oderna reported today the first data on how well its currently authorized vaccine and booster hold up against the
, which quickly dominated new infections around the world after health experts first described the variant last November. The company also announced that it is starting to study its Omicron-specific vaccine., the company’s scientists reported the results of a study involving blood samples from a small number of vaccinated participants.
A booster dose of the vaccine—which is half of one dose of the original shot—increased antibody levels in 20 study participants to 20 times higher than levels generated after the second dose of the vaccine, therefore restoring some of the waned protection. The scientists also tested a booster at the same dose as the primary two doses in another 20 volunteers, and that booster produced antibody levels that were at least two times higher than those generated by the half-dose booster.
Such rapid waning of protection after boosting with the existing vaccine makes a strong case for potentially boosting with an Omicron-specific shot, which the company is studying. That trial will include 300 people in 24 sites across the U.S. Moderna’s scientists are also evaluating combination vaccines, in which they put together vaccines developed for different variants, including one that targets the original virus and one that targets Omicron.