Pfizer announced Saturday that tweaking its COVID-19 vaccine to better target the Omicron variant is safe and works -- just days before regulators debate whether to offer Americans updated booster shots this fall.
The vaccines currently used in the U.S. still offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death -- especially if people have gotten a booster dose. But those vaccines target the original coronavirus strain and their effectiveness against any infection dropped markedly when the super-contagious Omicron mutant emerged.
In a study of more than 1,200 middle-aged and older adults who'd already had three vaccine doses, Pfizer said both booster approaches spurred a substantial jump in Omicron-fighting antibodies. And importantly, preliminary lab studies show the tweaked shots also produce antibodies capable of fighting Omicron's genetically distinct relatives named BA.4 and BA.5, although those levels weren't nearly as high.
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