AstraZeneca vax as third dose effective against Omicron: Study
LONDON: The AstraZeneca Vaxzevaria vaccine showed an increased antibody response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 after a third booster dose, preliminary data released by the Anglo-Swedish biopharma major said on Thursday.
In an ongoing safety and immunogenicity trial of the vaccine, a formulation developed by Oxford University and administered in India as Covishield, it was found that given as a third dose increased the body’s immune response to Beta, Delta, Alpha and Gamma SARS-CoV-2 variants.
A separate analysis of samples from the trial showed increased antibody response to the Omicron variant. The results were observed among individuals previously vaccinated with either Vaxzevria or an mRNA vaccine.
“Vaxzevria has protected hundreds of millions of people from COVID-19 around the world and these data show that it has an important role to play as a third dose booster, including when used after other vaccines,” said Sir Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R &D, AstraZeneca.
“Given the ongoing urgency of the pandemic and Vaxzevria’s increased immune response to the Omicron variant, we will continue to progress regulatory submissions around the world for its use as a third dose booster,” he said.
The company said it is submitting this additional data to health authorities around the world given the urgent need for third dose boosters. A separate Phase IV trial reported in a preprint with ‘The Lancet’
journal showed that a third dose of Vaxzevria substantially increased antibody levels following a primary vaccine series with CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech). AstraZeneca said this data adds to the growing body of evidence supporting Vaxzevria as a third dose booster, irrespective of the primary vaccination schedules tested.
Professor Sir Andrew J. Pollard, chief investigator and director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, said: “The AstraZeneca vaccine is suitable as an option to enhance immunity in the population for countries considering booster programmes, adding to the protection already demonstrated with the first 2 doses.”