Multi-Strain COVID-19 Vaccines Might Be Coming, After Moderna Reports Promising Study Results

While U.S. health officials are still debating the best way forward when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine boosters, one thing was clear when experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met for a recent committee discussion: to get longer-lasting and stronger immune responses, the next booster might have to target more than one strain of SARS-CoV-2. That would make COVID-19 vaccines similar to the annual flu shot, which normally helps the body to generate immunity against up to three different influenza strains. On April 19, Moderna, which makes one of the two mRNA vaccines available in the U.S., reported results of the first such combination vaccine. The results were published on a pre-print server and have not been peer-reviewed yet. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In the study, which involved nearly 900 people who had been vaccinated with a primary series of two doses of Moderna’s original vaccine, received a booster of the new vaccine at least six months after the initial shots. About 300 people received a half-dose booster, and nearly 600 received a full dose of the new shot. The new vaccine contained equal amounts of viral genetic material that would help the body’s immune cells produce antibodies against both the original version of the virus and against Beta, one of several variants that have emerged over the past two years. Another 171 people served as the comparison group and received the original vaccine, at half the dose as the p...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news