New data released by Moderna indicated that its updated COVID-19 boosters provide enhanced protection against the omicron variant.
Its data showed the booster provides a five times increase in antibodies for those with prior infection. For those without a prior infection, the increase was over six times higher.
The data indicated a strong immune response three months after getting boosted.
"We are pleased to see that both of our bivalent booster vaccine candidates offer superior protection against Omicron BA.4/BA.5 variants compared to our original booster, which is encouraging given COVID-19 remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death globally," said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna's CEO. "Our bivalent boosters also show, in research assays, neutralizing activity against BQ.1.1, an increasingly dominant emerging variant, confirming that updated vaccines have the potential to offer protection as the virus continues to evolve rapidly to escape our immunity."
Pfizer previously announced its booster candidates also provided a strong response to omicron.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends boosters for those ages 5 and up with 2 previous COVID-19 shots.
So far, 10.1% of those ages 5 and up have gotten an updated shot, the CDC said.
