Omicron-specific jab could pave way for annual boosters

THE first omicron-specific vaccine could be a “turning point” in the battle against Covid and open the door to annual boosters similar to yearly flu jabs, Moderna has said.

The American vaccine manufacturer has been creating and testing a two-inone Covid vaccine for several months that combines the original guise of the jab with the genetic code of omicron, the more transmissible variant that is currently dominant.

Data published by the firm yesterday show the bivalent vaccine gives just as good protection against omicron as the first vaccine did to the original strain of SARS-COV-2, but will likely last longer.

Dr Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Moderna, said the jab – known as “214” – produces “very high antibody levels”, which he believes “will translate into clinical protection against infection from any of the omicron family”.

He also believes that the long-lasting effectiveness of the new vaccine offers the first realistic possibility of moving to a yearly booster jab, much like the current annual flu programmes. Omicron emerged at the end of 2021 and led to the January wave of infections, but new sub-variants, called BA.4 and BA.5, have now supplanted the original omicron and appear to be slightly more transmissible and pathogenic.

People boosted with the omicronspecific vaccine had high levels of antibodies in their blood, recording a geometric mean titre (GMT) score of 941. Moderna’s original vaccine produced about 1,000 units against the wild form of the virus, and anything above 400 “we consider gives good protection”, Dr Burton told reporters.

“We think this is a strong, powerful antibody response and it is probably long lasting,” he said. “[The new vaccine] really could be a turning point in our fight against the SARS-COV-2 virus.”

He added that the data indicate the vaccine works well against BA.4 and BA.5 as well as all other omicron forms.

Moderna will be sending its data to regulators in the UK, US and Europe “within days”, with the expectation of using the 214 vaccine in the autumn booster programme.

Dr Burton said talks between the firm and UK health officials are under way and there is “definite interest in 214”.