Pfizer and Moderna say they are planning to test or develop booster vaccines in a pre-emptive strike against new coronavirus strains that may make their current COVID-19 vaccines less effective.
Moderna says lab tests show that its two-dose vaccine regimen is likely to protect recipients against current emerging SARS-CoV-2 virus variants such as B.1.1.7, which is currently plaguing the United Kingdom and expected to become dominant in the United States. But the company on Monday said that in “an abundance of caution” it will study whether an additional booster shot of the same vaccine will improve recipients’ immunity to the new strains.
Moderna is also developing another booster designed specifically to offer more protection against a strain first discovered in South Africa called SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351, it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, also are working on booster shots that would protect against newer COVID-19 strains, according to Bloomberg News. Research results released by the drugmaker in early January appeared to show its vaccine can protect against a mutation found in the Britain and South Africa strains, but the study was preliminary.
“We are already laying the groundwork to respond quickly if a variant of SARS-CoV-2 shows evidence of escaping immunity by our vaccine,” the company told Reuters.
