Pfizer and BioNTech have announced the commencement of a clinical trial that will evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a candidate mRNA vaccine based on the Omicron variant.

Healthy adults aged 18 to 55 will participate in the study. Researchers will also compare the effects of administering the new vaccine with the different administration regimens of the current one.

Furthermore, some participants in the Phase 3 booster dose trial of the currently available COVID-19 vaccine will also be recruited. This will allow a better assessment of the needs for preparations based on specific variants.

The data currently available (from clinical trials and real-world observations) show that vaccinated people - especially those who have received a booster dose - maintain a high level of protection against Omicron, especially in terms of severe disease COVID-19 and the need for hospitalization.

As previously announced by Pfizer and BioNTech, in 2022 they plan to produce 4 billion doses of their vaccine against COVID-19. This number is unlikely to change if a vaccine adapted to an Omicron variant is required.

It is assumed that the new vaccine could be given as a booster to people aged 12+, at least five months after the completion of the "basic series" of immunization with Pfizer/BioNTech.

While current research and observational data show that booster doses continue to provide a high level of protection against severe illness and hospitalization due to infection with the Omicron variant, we recognize that you need to be prepared in case this protection wears off over time, admits Kathrin Jansen, head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer.

Source: PharmaTimes