Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said on Tuesday they started a clinical trial to test a new version of their vaccine specifically designed to target the COVID-19 omicron variant, which has eluded some of the protection provided by the original two-dose vaccine regimen.
The drugmakers said the study will evaluate the safety and immune response of the new inoculation in up to 1,420 healthy adults ages 18 through 55.
The first group of participants, some 615 people, have received two doses of the current Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine between 90 and 180 days after enrolling in the study. They’ll then receive one or two doses of the Omicron-targeted shot.
A second group, another 600 people, who have received three doses of the current Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine prior to the study, will receive a dose of either the current treatment or the Omicron-based vaccine.
The third group of unvaccinated people will receive three doses of the Omicron-specific shot, the drugmakers said.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said there’s growing data indicating that the efficacy of the current vaccine against infection and mild-to-moderate disease from omicron is waning more rapidly compared with prior strains of the virus. The goal is to develop a vaccine that provides durable protection against omicron, Sahin said in a statement Tuesday.
Pfizer has said that a two-dose regimen of the original vaccine may not be sufficient to protect against infection from the omicron variant, and that protection against hospitalizations and deaths may be waning.
Still, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a third dose of an mRNA vaccine like the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has provided 90 percent protection against hospitalization due to COVID-19.
The drugmakers said the study will evaluate the safety and immune response of the new inoculation in up to 1,420 healthy adults ages 18 through 55.
The first group of participants, some 615 people, have received two doses of the current Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine between 90 and 180 days after enrolling in the study. They’ll then receive one or two doses of the Omicron-targeted shot.
A second group, another 600 people, who have received three doses of the current Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine prior to the study, will receive a dose of either the current treatment or the Omicron-based vaccine.
The third group of unvaccinated people will receive three doses of the Omicron-specific shot, the drugmakers said.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said there’s growing data indicating that the efficacy of the current vaccine against infection and mild-to-moderate disease from omicron is waning more rapidly compared with prior strains of the virus. The goal is to develop a vaccine that provides durable protection against omicron, Sahin said in a statement Tuesday.
Pfizer has said that a two-dose regimen of the original vaccine may not be sufficient to protect against infection from the omicron variant, and that protection against hospitalizations and deaths may be waning.
Still, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a third dose of an mRNA vaccine like the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has provided 90 percent protection against hospitalization due to COVID-19.
