The specific reminder against this variant of the coronavirus will be assessed as a third or fourth dose.
Le Monde with AFP
The American company Modera announced, Wednesday, January 26, have started clinical trials of a vaccine recall dose designed specifically against the Omicron variant of SARS-COV-2.
These tests will include in all 600 adults, half of which have already received two doses of the Moderna vaccine against CVIV-19 at least six months ago, and the other have received not only these two initial doses but also At least three months ago, the already authorized booster dose. The specific reminder against Omicron will therefore be evaluated as the third, or fourth dose.
The company also expressed results on efficiency, facing OICRON, the already authorized reminder. According to the company, six months after the reminder injection, the levels of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron were reduced by six compared to the peak observed twenty-nine days after the sting, but remained detectable in all participants. These data have been obtained by studying the blood of 20 people who received the reminder assted at 50 micrograms (half less than the first two injections).
“We are reassured from the persistence of the antibodies against Omicron six months after the currently authorized reminder, said in a statement Stéphane Bantel, the boss of Moderna. However, given the long-term threat posed by the escape Omicron’s immune, we go forward with our specific candidate vaccine reminder against Omicron. “
a decline in cases in several countries
The Pfizer-Biontech Alliance has also announced this week have started the tests to test its own specific vaccine against Omicron. But Pfizer not only evaluates its formula as a reminder, but also for the initial series of injections, in previously unvaccinated persons.
These two vaccines are based on Messenger RNA technology, which allows you to update them relatively easily to track the evolution of changes specific to new variants.
Several countries, including the United States, have begun to see a drop in cases due to the wave caused by Omicron, the most communicable variant detected at this stage, but the number of contaminations in the world continues to rise.