Laboratory data
Test: Moderna produces a weaker immune response against Omikron
According to laboratory data, a double corona vaccination with the vaccine from the US manufacturer Moderna ensures a weaker defense reaction of the body against the new Omicron variant. Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
It has often been suspected: According to initial data from a laboratory test, the immune response of the Moderna vaccine to the virus variant Omikron is weak. But there is also good news.
According to laboratory data, a double corona vaccination with the vaccine from the US manufacturer Moderna ensures a weaker defense reaction of the body against the new Omicron variant.
“That could lead to an increased risk of Covid disease,” write US researchers – including employees of the National Health Institutes (NIH) and Moderna – in a study that was published as a preprint, not in a peer-reviewed journal.
According to this, four weeks after the second dose vaccinated people had significantly fewer antibodies against the Omikron variant than against certain earlier variants in their blood. In order to examine the effect of a vaccine against a certain variant of Sars-CoV-2, researchers usually do so-called neutralization tests. It is checked how many antibodies a vaccinated person has in the blood that can reach the virus variant and thus switch it off. The actual protection of vaccinated persons cannot be determined with this, however, clinical studies with thousands of test persons or evaluations of the ongoing infection process are required.
The number of antibodies directed against Omikron increased significantly about two weeks after a booster vaccination with Moderna. According to the study, a booster dose could significantly reduce the risk of the disease. However, the team concludes that it is only a matter of laboratory tests. In addition, there was a lack of data on how long the reaction of the neutralizing antibodies lasted after the booster vaccination.
The vaccine manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer had already announced last week that three doses of their product were necessary for adequate protection against the Omikron variant. According to initial laboratory data, two doses did not provide sufficient protection against infection with this recently discovered variant. However, the companies assumed that protection against serious illness would continue to exist.