Pfizer and BioNTech say updated COVID-19 boosters provide a higher immune response

Pfizer and BioNTech say that the new COVID-19 boosters are making the immune response to the omicron variant much stronger.

Pfizer and BioNTech conducted research to determine how much protection a vaccine provides one month after receiving it. They are keeping track of 900 people who agreed to take part in the research.

The new boosters resulted in a 9.5-fold rise in COVID-19 antibodies among participants who were adults aged 18 to 55. The number of antibodies that people over 55 had against the omicron type went up by 13.2 times, according to the companies.

According to the firms, the booster shots have had the same level of safety as the initial COVID-19 injection.

“As we head into the holiday season, we hope these updated data will encourage people to seek out a COVID-19 bivalent booster as soon as they are eligible in order to maintain high levels of protection against the widely circulating Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages,” said Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. “These updated data also provide confidence in the adaptability of our mRNA platform and our ability to rapidly update the vaccine to match the most prevalent strains each season.”

Pfizer’s findings follow two university studies that indicated a less significant rise in antibodies last week. However, federal authorities pointed out that the number of participants in the research was rather low.

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

According to the CDC, as of right now, 8.4% of people aged 5 and older have had the most recent vaccination.