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Monday, December 20, 2021
Moderna: Initial booster data shows good results on Omicron
Moderna says that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine should offer protection against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
The drug company says lab tests show the half-dose booster shot increases by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight Omicron. And a full-dose booster was even stronger, triggering an 83-fold jump in antibody levels, although with an increase in the usual side effects, the company says. (While half-dose shots are being used for most Moderna boosters, a full-dose third shot has been recommended for people with weakened immune systems.)
Pfizer’s testing likewise found its COVID-19 vaccine triggered a similarly big jump in omicron-fighting antibodies. The vaccines made by Pfizer and by Moderna, both made with mRNA technology, are used by many countries around the world to fight the coronavirus.
The Times of Israel Community.