COVID-19 antibody response may not be better after an Omicron-specific booster

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-01-12 09:00

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Vaccines designed specifically to target both the original COVID-19 variant and Omicron BA.4-BA.5 may not be more effective than a booster using the original mRNA vaccines, according to international research. The researchers compared a small group of people who had three or four doses of the original vaccines, three original vaccine doses followed by an Omicron-specific (bivalent) vaccine, and people who had a breakthrough Omicron BA.4 or BA.5 infection after receiving three or four original vaccine doses. Testing the participants' blood against multiple COVID-19 variants, the researchers say the strongest antibody response came from the breakthrough infection group and the weakest from the three-dose group, but there were no significant differences between the original four-dose group and those who'd had the Omicron-specific booster.