Moderna’s updated COVID-19 boosters provide enhanced protection against the omicron variant

According to recent data that was made public by Moderna, the company’s updated COVID-19 boosters provide significantly enhanced protection against the omicron variant.

The data showed the booster provides a five-fold increase in antibodies for those who have already been infected, while for those who have never been infected before, the data showed an increase that was more than six times higher.

The findings pointed to a strong immunological response three months after the booster shot was administered.

“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. 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,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO.

Those over the age of 5 who have already had 2 COVID-19 shots are encouraged to get booster shots by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, as of right now, 10.1% of people aged 5 and older have had an updated shot.