Omicron-targeting bivalent boosters could better neutralise COVID-19

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-01-19 09:00

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Pfizer's bivalent vaccine targeting Omicron BA.1 and the original COVID-19 variant can induce higher levels of neutralising antibodies than the original Pfizer vaccine, according to the company's phase 3 trial. The researchers gave about 1800 people who had previously received three Pfizer vaccines a fourth dose of either the bivalent vaccine, original Pfizer or a monovalent vaccine only targeting Omicron BA.1. The researchers say safety was similar across all the vaccines, and the bivalent and monovalent vaccines targeting BA.1 induced 'substantial' neutralising responses when exposed to ancestral COVID-19, Omicron BA.1, and to a lesser extent newer Omicron variants. The researchers say longer-term research is needed to see how this response holds up, but at this stage bivalent boosters appear to provide a larger breadth of immunity against variants.