Updated Moderna vaccine for Omicron COVID shows strong subvariant antibody response

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Moderna today reported that that the bivalent (two-strain) mRNA vaccine it developed against Omicron showed a strong neutralizing antibody response against the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants and that it will seek regulatory approval in the coming weeks.

 

Moderna's bivalent vaccine contains its original vaccine plus a strain that targets Omicron and its subvariants.

 

The announcement comes amid rising BA.4 and BA.5 levels worldwide, which are fueling new spikes in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest update.

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Stephane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive officer, said the company is encouraged by the booster's performance against BA.4 and BA.5, which are an emerging health threat. "We will submit these data to regulators urgently and are preparing to supply our next generation bivalent booster starting in August, ahead of a potential rise in SARS-CoV-2 infections due to Omicron subvariants in the early fall," he said.

 

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https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/06/moderna-2-strain-booster-shows-strong-subvariant-antibody-response

 

 

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New BA.4 & BA.5 coronavirus subvariants escape antibodies from vaccination and prior Omicron infection, studies suggest

(CNN)  Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 appear to escape antibody responses among both people who had previous Covid-19 infection and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to new data from researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of Harvard Medical School.

 

However, Covid-19 vaccination is still expected to provide substantial protection against severe disease, and vaccine makers are working on updated shots that might elicit a stronger immune response against the variants.

 

The levels of neutralizing antibodies that a previous infection or vaccinations elicit are several times lower against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants compared with the original coronavirus, according to the new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

 

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/22/health/ba4-ba5-escape-antibodies-covid-vaccine/index.html