A recent animal study suggests conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Vaccine Research Center suggests there may not be a benefit to developing an Omicron-specific booster shot.
The study--which used Moderna's
Moreover, blood samples from the primates showed the neutralizing antibody levels provided by either shot were not substantially different, meaning the Omicron-specific booster provided the same amount of protection as the company's original vaccine.
The study was published for preprint last Friday, and has not yet been peer reviewed. The study's authors noted that their findings will need to be verified in human trials, which Mondera is currently conducting.
Dr. Robert Seder, said the study's findings were similar to those of a study on a previous variant-specific booster developed by Moderna last year, according to StatNews. Moderna had designed a booster to target the Beta variant--a Variant of Concern first identified in South Africa which did not spread globally--and that shot did not outperform the original vaccine in protecting primates from Beta. That study was later backed by human trial data.
Moderna told StatNews in an emailed comment following the study's preprint: "We believe protection against variants of concern will be important, especially as we look ahead to the fall of 2022. We will continue to follow the science and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and potential new variants of concern. We are committed to remaining ahead of the virus as it evolves."
The Omicron strain has dozens of mutations compared to the original SAR-CoV-2 virus, with many of its mutations on the spike protein that the virus uses to infect human cells. Those mutations are what makes the variant elusive to the protection offered by vaccines designed to combat the original strain of the virus.
Both Moderna and rival mRNA vaccine makers Pfizer
