AstraZeneca tests COVID booster shots against beta-variant (Representational Image)
British-Swedish biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, in partnership with the University of Oxford, has started human trials for booster shots against the beta COVID variant.
The booster shot, named AZD2816, will be given to individuals who have previously been fully vaccinated with two doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine/Vaxxervia or an mRNA vaccine, at least three months after their last injection.
In non-vaccinated individuals, AZD2816 will be given as two doses, four or twelve weeks apart, or as a second dose after the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine/Vaxxervia — four weeks apart, the company said Sunday. said in a statement.
AZD2816 is designed using the same adenoviral vector platform as the AstraZeneca Vaccine/Vaxxervia, with minor genetic alterations in the spike protein based on the beta (B1351) variant, which was first identified in South Africa.
The aim of the study is to enroll 2,250 participants from the UK, South Africa, Brazil and Poland to build immunity against the beta COVID variant.
Professor Sir Andrew J Pollard, principal investigator and director of Oxford Vaccines, said: “Testing booster doses of existing vaccines and new types of vaccines is critical to ensuring that we are best prepared to stay ahead of the pandemic coronavirus. ” Group in statement.
Preliminary data from the trial is expected later this year and, once available, will be submitted to regulators for evaluation as a next-generation booster vaccine and through an accelerated regulatory route, the company said. .
“The beta version vaccine contains 10 changes in the spike protein, many of which are also seen in other forms of anxiety, and which cause effects, such as a reduced need for antibodies against the original virus to block cell entry. potency (K417N, E484K, N501Y), increased infectivity compared to the original virus (D614G); decreased sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies to the original virus (L452R),” the company said.
Other than these minor modifications, the two AZD2816 and AstraZeneca Vaccine/Vaxzervia vaccines are identical, it noted.
In May, the UK launched a clinical trial aimed at assessing the efficacy of a third ‘booster’ dose of seven different COVID-19 vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Novavax, Valneva, Janssen and CureVac – on the immune response of patients.
It costs £19.3 million and is being funded by the UK Government and led by the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that there is currently no data to support that a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot is needed for the general population. However, an additional dose may be needed for more sensitive groups, such as older adults or organ transplant patients.
The report said that both Pfizer and Moderna are investigating a third dose of the Kovid vaccine, while Johnson & Johnson is studying the need for a second dose to increase protection against the virus.
The US NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, is also conducting a clinical trial to understand whether a person should receive two shots of Pfizer, or one shot from Johnson & Johnson, after Moderna Vaccine. A third shot can be given. Added report.
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