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 The vaccine maker said the decision to focus on the current vaccine,
mRNA-1273, was driven in part by how quickly the recently discovered
variant is spreading. The company still plans to develop a vaccine
specifically to protect against Omicron, which it hopes to advance
into clinical trials early next year.
"What we have available right now is 1273," Dr. Paul Burton,
Moderna's Chief Medical Officer, said in an interview. "It's highly
effective, and it's extremely safe. I think it will protect people
through the coming holiday period and through these winter months,
when we're going to see the most severe pressure of Omicron."
The company said a two-dose course of its vaccine generated low
neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant, but a 50
microgram booster dose increased neutralizing antibodies against the
variant 37 fold. A higher, 100 microgram booster dose of the same
vaccine drove antibody levels even higher - more than 80 times
pre-boost levels.
The data, which has not yet been peer reviewed, tested blood from
people who had received the vaccine against a pseudovirus engineered
to resemble the Omicron variant. It is similar to data discussed
last by top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci.
Burton said it would be up to governments and regulators to gauge
whether they want the enhanced level of protection that a 100
microgram dose might confer.
The company said that the 100 microgram dose was generally safe and
well tolerated, although there was a trend toward slightly more
frequent adverse reactions.
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 Moderna also tested the
vaccine's effectiveness compared to its
prototype boosters that target multiple previous
variants of concern, and said the results were
similar.
U.S. regulators authorized the 50 microgram
booster of Moderna's vaccine in October. The
first two shots of Moderna's vaccine are both
100 micrograms.
Both the Moderna and the Pfizer/BioNTech
vaccines have been linked to rare cases of heart
inflammation, particularly in young men. Several
studies have suggested that Moderna's vaccine is
likely to cause the heart inflammation at a
higher rate.
Omicron, a highly contagious variant first
detected last month in southern Africa and Hong
Kong, has raced around the globe and been
reported in 89 countries, the World Health
Organization said on Saturday.
It said the number of Omicron cases is doubling
in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community
transmission, but noted that much remains
unknown about the variant, including the
severity of the illness it causes.
(Reporting by Michael Erman. Editing by Gerry
Doyle)
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