Moderna Finds Booster Combo May Provide Better Protection, All COVID Variants
Moderna announced yesterday the release of new clinical data on its COVID-19 booster platform after the company tested a new vaccine formula that combines their original vaccine and one that targets the beta variant.
According to the preprint study, which has not yet gone through the peer review process, the combination booster developed by Moderna can protect against a broad range of coronavirus variants, including four mutations of the omicron variant.
To study the combination booster, Moderna enrolled about 900 volunteers into a clinical trial. Of those, 300 indviduals received a 50-microgram dose of the vaccine, and about 600 participants received twice that amount.
In the month following the booster shot, individuals who received the combination booster were able to produce two times more antibodies against the beta, delta and omicron variants when compared with those who received the original vaccine.
Even six months after the study, the combination booster continued to offer better protection against beta and omicron infection.
The company has announced plans to develop by fall data regarding a bivalent COVID-19 booster trial that specifically involves the original and omicron variants.
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