AstraZeneca said on Thursday that preliminary study data showed that its Covid-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, produced increased antibodies against the Ômicron variant and other strains after a third booster dose was administered.
The response, which also occurs against the Delta variant, was recorded in blood tests of people who were previously vaccinated with either Vaxzevria or a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, the drugmaker said, adding that it will submit the data to regulators of the worldwide, given the urgent need for booster doses.
AstraZeneca developed the vaccine with researchers at the University of Oxford, and laboratory studies conducted by the university last month have already concluded that the application of three doses of the vaccine increases the levels of antibodies in the blood against the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The brief note on Thursday, without including specific data, was the first from AstraZeneca on the protective potential of the immunizer as a booster dose following the application of two doses of its own, or some other mRNA technology, manufactured by Pfizer or by Modern.
The company said the finding “adds to the growing body of evidence supporting Vaxzevria as a third booster regardless of previous vaccines tested.”
Data on the potential of AstraZeneca’s vaccine as a booster dose was obtained from a comparative analysis in studies that test an immunizer developed with the vector technology behind Vaxzevria, but with the aim of combating the now outdated Beta variant. AstraZeneca is trying to show that its Beta-specific vaccine also has potential against other variants and more study data is expected over the first half of the year.
Separately, the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca started work last month on a vaccine specifically aimed at fighting the Omicron variant, although AstraZeneca – as well as other vaccine makers in similar development projects – said it was not yet clear whether update is required.
A large British study in December found that doses of AstraZeneca raise antibodies when given as a booster dose after the initial immunization with Pfizer’s or its own doses, but that was before the explosion of cases caused by the Ômicron variant.
However, the study at the time concluded that the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna provide the greatest antibody stimulus when given as a third dose.
AstraZeneca and its third-party manufacturing partners have supplied more than 2.5 billion doses of their vaccine worldwide, despite the immunizer not being approved in the United States, while Pfizer has delivered about 2.6 billion doses.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt)
Reference: CNN Brasil
