Moderna hopes to offer updated COVID-19 boosters in the fall that combine the original vaccine with protection against the latest variant. Before omicron struck, Moderna began testing a shot combining the original vaccine with protection against an earlier variant named beta.
Before omicron came along, Moderna was studying a combination shot that added protection against an earlier variant named beta. Tuesday, the company said people given that beta-original vaccine combination produced more antibodies capable of fighting several variants — including omicron — than today's regular booster triggers.
Health officials have made clear that giving boosters every few months isn't the answer to the mutating virus. They've begun deliberating how to decide if and when to change the vaccine recipe. Why would Moderna's earlier, beta-targeted combo shot have any effect on omicron? It includes four mutations that both the beta variant and the newer omicron have in common, Miller said.