Moderna said Monday its COVID-19 booster does appear to provide protection against the omicron variant that is currently surging across the world.
In an announcement early Monday, the drug company said preliminary data from lab testing found the version of its booster currently in use in the United States and elsewhere provided increased antibody levels to neutralize the virus. But it also found that a double dose of the booster shot provided a much greater increase in those levels.
The news is the latest sign that booster shots are an effective way to protect against the new variant, which has driven a rapid increase in case numbers since first emerging last month.
The drug company said its currently FDA-approved 50 microgram booster was found to increase neutralizing antibody levels against omicron 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels. Meanwhile, it found that a 100 microgram booster dose gave an 83-fold increase in neutralizing antibody levels.
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The company said it would still be working to develop an omicron-specific booster, however, with the shot expected to advance into clinical trials in early 2022.
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