Moderna begins clinical trials of a vaccine for the mutant Omicron

Washington: The American pharmaceutical company Moderna announced, on Wednesday, that it will begin clinical trials of a booster vaccine dose designed specifically to combat the mutant Omicron.

600 adults will participate in the trials, half of whom received two doses of the Moderna anti-Covid vaccine at least six months ago, while the other half received two doses in addition to a booster dose for which Moderna had previously obtained a license, according to a company statement.

Through these trials, Moderna aims to evaluate the Omicron booster dose for administration as a third or fourth dose.

The company also disclosed in its statement the effectiveness results of the previously licensed dose against Omicron.

She said that after six months of giving the booster dose, the level of antibodies decreased six times compared to its peak after 29 days of administration, but it remained detectable in all participants in the experiments.

These results were reached by studying blood samples from 20 people who received a booster dose of 50 micrograms, which is half the amount of the first two doses.

"We are reassured by the continued presence of antibodies against Omicron six months after the current booster dose," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the statement.

"However, given the long-term threat presented by omicron escaping from the immune system, we are developing an omicron-specific booster vaccine, and are pleased to embark on this part of our phase 2 study."

Moderna's statement comes a day after rivals Pfizer and Biontech announced that they had begun clinical trials of the Omicron mutant.

Several countries, including the United States, began noticing a decrease in injuries related to the outbreak caused by Omicron, but the numbers of injuries around the world are still rising.(AFP)