Are Omicron-specific vaccinations better than standard vaccine?
Key Takeaways:
- Many research has been conducted to determine if a third vaccination dosage is sufficient to provide protection against Omicron.
Early animal investigations undertaken by experts worldwide have indicated that Omicron-specific coronavirus vaccination boosters are no better at avoiding illness than the previously available ones. The greatest transmissible strain thus far is the Omicron variation of Covid-19, which is still prevalent worldwide.
Plenty of studies has been done to see if a third vaccine dosage is adequate to create protection against Omicron. Pfizer and Moderna, two of the world's largest vaccine companies, previously announced that clinical trials of their Omicron-specific vaccine shots had begun.
"What we're seeing coming out of these preclinical research in animal models is that a boost with a variant immunization doesn't do any better than a boost with the current vaccine," David Montefiori, director of Duke University Medical Center's Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development in Durham, North Carolina, told Nature.
According to a publication in the journal, most of the early tests used a limited number of animals. They all suggested that a customized booster dosage of the vaccine would have little effect against Omicron. This research hasn't been peer-reviewed yet.
According to the paper, one study looked at the immune responses of eight rhesus macaques (monkeys) given two doses of Moderna's initial vaccine and one booster shot of the same dosage or an Omicron-specific version. According to the researchers, the monkeys given either vaccination had a wide antibody response against all variations of concern, including Omicron.
However, because the study only looked at reactions for four weeks, it's unclear how long the vaccine's efficacy will remain.
A'replicating RNA' vaccination was tested in mice in another investigation. According to the article, they were given three doses of the replicating RNA vaccine developed by HDT Bio in Seattle, Washington — two doses based on the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain followed by a single Omicron-specific booster.
While the third dosage of the Omicron-specific vaccination did not improve outcomes, animals given one dose of the ancestral strain vaccine followed by two doses of the variant-specific vaccine showed a response.
"There are still serious problems that need to be addressed. Montefiori told the journal, "Hopefully, Pfizer and Moderna's Omicron investigations in people will achieve that."