A booster of a COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer and Biontech could extend protection in a new study as companies show they are developing a vaccine against a delta variant that emerged in India. Pfizer said the first two doses the patients received triggered a strong immune response to the delta variant, and the current study focused on a booster shot to increase that response. The companies said they had shown that the third dose of the vaccine, administered six months after the second, boosted neutralizing antibodies to the original virus and the new variant five-fold.
Pfizer said that it believes the level of protection provided by the two doses of its vaccine will decrease over time, and that a third booster dose will be required six to 12 months after a person is vaccinated. Executives from Pfizer and Biontech said people will need a booster shot and a third dose within 12 months of vaccination, but that they expect vaccine-induced immunity to decline over time. Study data showed that the booster shot had a consistent tolerance profile six months after the second dose and neutralized immune responses.
Pfizer and Biontech said in a statement Friday that their current two-dose vaccine has the potential to maintain the highest level of protection against all known variants, including delta variant, and that they would remain vigilant and develop updated versions of the vaccine. Earlier this week, Israeli officials reported research that found a decline in the effectiveness of the current vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic diseases after six months, but that the vaccine remains effective in preventing serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths. Pfizer and the manufacturer BionTech said they believe that a third of their vaccine could have higher levels of protection against some of the known Delta variants, and would remain vigilant in developing updates.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer said Thursday it is seeing a waning immune state to its coronavirus vaccine and is stepping up efforts to develop a booster dose to protect people from both variants. The company announced that it will publish data on the third dose of the vaccine and submit it to the United States. Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency and other regulators. The delta variant of coronvirus has become the dominant strain in the US, and Pfizer says it is working on a booster for its COVID-19 vaccine. In a recent press release the company said the booster shot, which targets the delta variant of the vaccine, would improve the immunity of those who received the first two vaccinations.
Pfizer and Biontech announced Thursday that they are developing a COVID-19 – booster – shot to target the highly transmissible delta variant. In addition to developing a booster for the existing vaccine, the pharmaceutical giant also said it is developing a new version of the Covid-19 vaccine, which targets the delta variant of the virus. Clinical trials for the booster shot will begin in August, subject to approval by health authorities.
In an email to Global News, Pfizer and Biontech confirmed that they had seen encouraging data from the ongoing booster studies of a COVID-19 booster shot that targets the highly transmissible Delta variant, suggesting that a third shot like the one that Pfizer is developing offers the highest protection level against all known Covid-19 variants, including the Delta variant. The data is based on a study in which a booster was administered six months after a second dose, the company said. The companies also reported promising results from a trial in which people were given a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
The companies cited research by Israel’s Health Ministry suggesting that the effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine waned after six months of full vaccination. The ministry said in a statement this week that efficacy had fallen by more than 90% to 64% as the B16172 delta variant spread. Pfizer, meanwhile, said studies had shown that a booster dose of the vaccine produced five to ten times higher levels of neutralizing antibodies than two doses.
Two companies are developing booster shots specifically for the Delta variant to be encouraged by these findings and the effectiveness of the vaccines currently available, according to a New York Times report. Current vaccines target parts of the spike protein, which is part of the virus that uses it to attach to cells. Now Pfizer says it is developing a new formulation of booster doses to protect people from the new variant.
In recent weeks, a mutated delta version of the virus identified in India has set off alarm bells around the world, spreading beyond vaccination successes such as the US, Britain and Israel. Just a few weeks ago, the delta variant represented a quarter of all new cases in the US, and in some areas, such as parts of the Midwest, the figure is now 50% and even 80%. It is thought to be 60% more contagious in the UK, and if another variant emerges in 2021 it could be as transmissible as the original COVID-19 virus.
NEW YORK, September 9 (Reuters) – Pfizer (PFZ.N) and its partner Biontech (22uayde) plan to ask U.S. and European regulators this week to approve booster doses of their COVID-19 vaccine based on evidence of an increased risk of infection six months after vaccination by the rapidly spreading and highly contagious Delta variant. Selon a joint statement of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) booster shots may not be required for some time to further protect against the virus. The FDA and CDC said in the statement that Americans who have already been vaccinated do not currently need COID-19 vaccinations.
Pfizer and Biontech plan to report their booster data to the Food and Drug Administration in August and apply for emergency approval, a Pfizer spokesman said. Pfizer has received encouraging clinical trial data from a small number of participants in its trial to evaluate the third dose of Pfizer’s current COVID19 vaccine, BNT162B2. We need a booster COVID-19 vaccine and Pfizer is preparing to administer one, but the CDC says that it is not necessary at the moment and will find out whether a booster is needed.
