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Moderna said it will seek authorization for an upgraded coronavirus vaccine designed to protect against omicron subvariants that the company described as its “main candidate” for a fall boost, but it is unclear what effectiveness will be the vaccine against the latest versions of the omicron variant. spreading to the United States.
Preliminary data released by the company on Wednesday showed that its omicron-targeted coronavirus boosting candidate produced 1.75 times more neutralizing antibodies against the winter-circulating version of omicron, known as BA.1, compared to your existing vaccine.
But the omicron variant has mutated so rapidly that several new subvariants have emerged that are even better at evading immune system defenses. Two of them, known as BA.4 and BA.5, are now responsible for 13 percent of new coronavirus cases in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new estimates. It is unclear whether BA.4 and BA.5 will be dominant in the coming months or whether existing immunity in the population from infections and vaccinations will slow their spread.
Biden administration officials have said they are preparing for a wave of autumn and winter that could see 100 million coronavirus infections and a potentially significant number of deaths, driven by omicron subvariants. This makes it even more critical to have more effective vaccines, especially to protect the elderly and the most vulnerable.
Moderna executives said in a call on Wednesday that they were confident the updated vaccine would still provide additional protection against newer omicron subvariants, although researchers tested its booster dose against BA.1. Although the Updated The booster provides less protection against later omicron variants than against BA.1, which will likely be even more effective against them than the company’s existing reinforcement, said Moderna chairman Stephen Hoge.
“We are pretty sure that this vaccine will offer a benefit even against the omicron subvariate family,” Hoge said in a briefing with reporters.
Shortly after the omicron variant was identified in South Africa late last year, Moderna said it was developing features specifically designed to combat the variant. Pfizer and BioNTech have announced the same plan, although they have not yet released data on their updated vaccine.
Modern publishes data to support its fall vaccine strategy
Data from the recent clinical trial, which included 437 participants, showed that Moderna’s omicron targeting enhancement would likely provide longer protection against variants a month later compared to previous versions of its coronavirus vaccine. , said Modern.
The reinforcement “was generally well tolerated,” with side effects comparable to previous reinforcements, the company said.
The White House has been pushing Congress for several months to raise more than $ 20 billion for the coronavirus response. Lawmakers have not yet approved the new funding.
The official count of new daily coronavirus infections is slowly rising in the United States, although the actual numbers are believed to be much higher because many people are being tested at home. The country saw a 38 percent increase in new cases over the past week, according to figures compiled by The Washington Post, as protection against booster injections and previous infections decreases and more people continue their lives without masks.
Globally, new cases of coronavirus are still declining after the omicron variant triggered tens of millions of new cases worldwide, increasing infections during the winter.