US biotech giant Moderna on Wednesday(June 8, 2022) in Washington, made public its positive developments in creating a new “bivalent” vaccine, effective in combating both the original Corona and the lethal Omicron variant.
As publicized by Moderna, this supposed ‘bivalent’ vaccine was tested in a trial on 814 adults, who had all received their first three doses of Moderna’s original Spikevax( Moderna vaccine, later branded as ‘Spikevax’) vaccine.
Then the test subjects were divided into two groups. The first half received a fourth booster dose of Spikevax. While the other half was given the new bivalent vaccine.
After a period of observations the researchers concluded that those vaccinated with the new bivalent vaccine showed significantly higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and noted the development of “Y shaped immune system proteins” that as per research, block the virus.
The average difference in the subjects injected with Spikevax(as the 4th dose) and those with the bivalent vaccine was the latter having around 75 percent higher rate of efficiency. Furthermore, they have also been reported to have developed a slightly superior protection to the ancestral strain of Covid compared to the one developed after injecting Spikevax.
Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna in a public statement said, “We are thrilled…” Making obvious his hopefulness for their company’s vaccine to be the lead candidate for authorization as a booster this fall.
As per reports he excitedly informed the investors in Moderna over a call that, “We want to be ready as early as August for shipping….”
The company president, Stephen Hoge agreed with experts that the efficiency of the antibody levels developed by this vaccine would be lower against fighting Omicron’s sub variants that are now in circulation, but assured everyone by saying he believed it was still a superior booster than repeating Spikevax doses.
While the observatory results are hope-inducing, the company has yet to provide credible data on the vaccine’s durability and what effects and changes the subjects ingested with the new booster vaccine will face in the months to come.