Moderna says booster increases protection against omicron
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Moderna on Monday said that a booster dose of its messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine, given at the authorized dose of 50 µg, offered a 37-fold increase in protection against the omicron variant, compared with pre-boost levels.
Protection levels rose 83-fold compared with pre-boost levels following a booster dose of 100 µg.
“The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant is concerning to all. However, these data showing that the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels are reassuring,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, MSc, MBA, said in a statement.
“To respond to this highly transmissible variant, Moderna will continue to rapidly advance an omicron-specific booster candidate into clinical testing in case it becomes necessary in the future. We will also continue to generate and share data across our booster strategies with public health authorities to help them make evidence-based decisions on the best vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2.”
The findings released by Moderna were from sera collected from participants — 20 in each group — who received a 50 µg or 100 µg dose of the original vaccine, or doses of two multivalent vaccines that target previous variants of concern.
Neutralizing antibodies were assessed in a pseudovirus neutralization titer assay conducted in laboratories established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Duke University Medical Center.
At day 29 after receiving a boost, participants who received a 50 µg booster experienced increased neutralizing geometric mean titers against omicron to 850, whereas those who received the 100 µg booster saw levels increase to 2,228.
Moderna said it will continue to assess the breadth and durability of neutralizing antibodies from the multivalent booster candidates.
Perspective
Back to TopAmesh A. Adalja, MD
It’s not surprising that Moderna’s data, with respect to third doses and omicron, show a boost in neutralizing antibody levels — that’s how vaccines work.
The question is how durable that response is and what level of protection that translates to a clinical setting, because these types of studies may not reflect the level of antibodies in the nasal mucosa, where infection occurs.
What is clear, however, is that the standard two-dose regimen of Moderna protects people against what matters — severe disease.
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Moderna. Moderna announces preliminary booster data and updates strategy to address omicron variant. https://investors.modernatx.com/news/news-details/2021/Moderna-Announces-Preliminary-Booster-Data-and-Updates-Strategy-to-Address-Omicron-Variant/default.aspx. Accessed Dec. 20, 2021.
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