Corona variant Omikron: Moderna vaccine increases antibody levels in particular

Vaccines the most effective weapon in containing the corona pandemic. Studies are now showing which vaccines are most effective.

Update from Monday, December 20, 2021, 4 p.m .: The omicron variant of the coronavirus is still on the rise. Vaccination is a key tool in the fight against the highly infectious mutation. In particular, booster vaccinations are coming into focus. Recently, a study in which researchers worldwide were involved examined which vaccines are most effective against Omikron (see first report).

It has now been announced that, according to the manufacturer, a vaccine is very suitable as a refresher against the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. A booster vaccination with the vaccine from Moderna therefore significantly increases the body’s immune defense against the omicron variant. After a booster with the approved dosage, the neutralizing antibody level increased by around 37 times compared to a double vaccination, as the US company announced on Monday (December 20, 2021). The researchers analyzed the antibody level in the laboratory 29 days after the booster vaccination.

A booster dose of 50 micrograms (Millions of Grams) is approved for most people. This is only half the amount of vaccine that is given for the first and second corona vaccinations. In the study on the Moderna booster vaccination with 100 micrograms, the neutralizing antibody level even increased 83-fold over the same period, Moderna announced.

However, the vaccine analysis of the US company shows an enormous weakness: According to the manufacturer, only 20 people per dose took part in the study – i.e. 40 people. In addition, the results of the analysis have not yet been published by a specialist journal, which is common in science.

Omicron variant: These vaccines work best against the new corona mutant

First report from Saturday, December 18, 2021, 6.15 p.m .: Frankfurt – The effectiveness of the vaccines newly developed in the pandemic against the Coronavirus is continuously tested and checked by science. Since it has become clear that the vaccination protection is no longer sufficiently high after a few months, comprehensive third-party vaccinations, the so-called booster vaccinations, have been the goal.

Almost at the same time, the omicron variant of the virus appeared on the scene – a mutant that is characterized by its rapid transferability. The corona vaccines, however, were only partially effective against Omikron. Scientists from universities in the USA, Europe, South America and Australia therefore examined in one current joint studyHow the vaccine protection against Omikron compares with the various vaccines.

Corona vaccines: Biontech, Moderna & Co. – Who does the best?

The number of neutralizing antibodies that were still present after two to four weeks was examined in test persons, which suggests that the vaccination protection was in place. People who recovered or were vaccinated twice with Moderna, Biontech / Pfizer, Astrazeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik or the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm were included.

Moderna proved to be the lone front runner among the vaccines. Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, epidemiologist and health economist from the USA, writes about it Twitter: “According to the study, Moderna seems to be the strongest against Omikron, but the waste is nonetheless [der Antikörper im Blut, Anm. d. R.] still big. Pfizer is the next best (…), Astrazeneca and Sinopharm do poorly. Johnson & Johnson and Sputnik equal zero. ”However, a cross vaccination from Astrazeneca and Biontech / Pfizer achieves“ halfway decent ”protection, according to Feigl-Ding in another Twitter post in which he referred to a study by the Frankfurt Institute for Medical Virology relates.

The study on the vaccine comparison also shows that someone who has recovered from a corona infection but has not been vaccinated has practically no verifiable vaccination protection against Omikron. A vaccination in addition to a survived infection, on the other hand, had a positive effect on vaccination protection.

Corona vaccines against Omikron – all of them decrease in effectiveness

But as Feigl-Ding already hinted at in his comment: The decline in vaccination protection against the Omikron variant is enormous. Sandra Ciesek, Director of the Institute for Medical Virology at the University Hospital Frankfurt, also published the first results of the ones quoted by Feigl-Ding on Twitter Study of your own institute. The scientists of this study looked at a much longer period of time and determined the existing vaccination protection of the various vaccines against Omikron after six months.

The results: A double vaccination with Biontech / Pfizer as well as a double vaccination with Moderna and a cross-vaccination from AstraZeneca and Biontech / Pfizer showed no detectable neutralization against Omikron after 6 months. Even a booster vaccination with Biontech / Pfizer only resulted in 25 percent neutralization after three months. In the delta variant, however, this was still 95 percent.

However, as Ciesek pointed out separately, these data are not conclusive in relation to the question of whether the vaccinations can prevent a severe course of the disease. The study therefore explicitly refers only to the transferability of the virus, not to the course of the disease in the event of an infection.

Corona vaccines: Manufacturers have to develop new vaccine against Omikron

The data would make it very clear, however, that the development of a vaccine that is adapted to the Omikron variant makes sense, said Ciesek. However, it will take time for manufacturers to develop this. You have already given information about the expected availability:

Biontech / Pfizer has already started adapting the mRNA vaccine to the Omikron virus strain, the company announced on December 8, 2021. The adapted vaccine should therefore be on the market by the end of March 2022. Also the US manufacturer Moderna is already revising its mRNA vaccine, as the WDR reports. According to experts, a clinical study will begin in 60 to 90 days.

The British-Swedish company Astrazeneca I am currently still checking to what extent the vector vaccine protects against omicron infection and severe courses. According to the University of Oxford, there is currently no evidence that the vaccination protection against severe courses in Omikron declines. However, so far only limited data are available, as the WDR reports. Johnson & Johnson I am also currently testing the effectiveness of the vector vaccine before Omikron. However, the US manufacturer is already working on a new vaccine that can be further developed and adapted to Omikron.

Corona pandemic: close vaccination gaps and boost them

In the meantime, it is of the utmost importance to close the vaccination gap that still exists in Germany, says Christian Drosten, virologist at the Berlin Charité. “Omikron is an ideal post-pandemic virus. D.[eutschland, Anm. d. R.] is not yet ready for the endemic situation because of the vaccination picking ”, so Drosten via Twitter.

A fifth wave caused by Omikron is to be feared. In view of this, too, Drosten has recently set a clear tone: “There is no substitute for an almost complete closing of the vaccination gaps. If you haven’t got it, you haven’t got it yet. Boosters calms down the incidence in winter, but with the current vaccination gap we do not get into the endemic situation, “that is to say: Only vaccination helps us reliably to get out of the current situation of a pandemic, to achieve basic immunization in the population and with Corona as a to live with a relatively common but harmless virus – similar to what is already the case with the flu. (n / A)