New Normal Living: Are Booster Shots Enough to Stop the COVID-19 Surge?

As the new COVID-19 booster shots develop, it's making a runaway across the tri-state. These new shots have a specific target which is the Omicron variant.

Some people wait to get boosted in time for holidays. But is it beneficial to delay the vaccine?

In an interview with News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen, Doctor Tom McGinn talks about health.

Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines have been like a software update on mobile phones. We look set to have an update after a few developments since the Omicron stain globally dominated the early start of the current year.

In the United Kingdom, the country just authorized a vaccine produced by Moderna that targets the newest variant with their developing vaccine formula.

Later in August, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) reviewed applications for Moderna's BA1 shot and another formula from the Pfizer-BioNTech collaboration.

But the BA1 is no longer expediting; the BA4 and BA5 sub-variants arise in the spring. In June, the US FDA asked vaccine manufacturers to create a booster targeting these new virus strains. US President Biden has already made an order for 170 million doses of such vaccines.

New Booster's Components

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna make their vaccine formula from messenger RNA (mRNA) coding for the spike protein of COVID-19.

The new formulas are bivalent vaccines that work against two unique antigens-half of mRNA codes to spike the ancestral viral strain that originated from Wuhan, China late 2019. Other half codes spike in BA.1, BA.4 and BA.5, which have similar spikes.

Due to the lower dosage of mRNA, the shots are made to be used as booster shots and not for individuals who never received initial shots. During a meeting in June, the FDA vaccine advisory committee presented data that shows the side effects of the shot from the two leading vaccine developers, suggesting that BA.1 vaccines have a significant response to BA.4 and BA.5, although lower than to BA.1's.

The clinical trials for the BA.4 and BA.5 vaccines will roll out this month. Clinical data will be needed for vaccine approval and future vaccine updates. The trial will measure the antibody levels of the recipients and not the efficacy against severe disease or infection.

Will the New Omicron Vaccine Lead to Better Protection?

The answer to the question depends on the part of how much BA.4 and BA.5 will circulate by the time the shots are delivered and how the next dominant variant matches them. In addition, many people have immunity from the recent virus because of the primary vaccines.

Kirby Institute of University of New South Wales mathematical modeler Deborah Cromer attempted to calculate the possible influence of strain-specific vaccines. Using the eight clinical trial data, they compared it to the original spike protein formula targeting Beta, Delta and Omicron BA.1 variants.

Cromer and her colleagues found that the biggest effect was from administering any booster. On average, an additional dosage of the vaccine coding the ancestral virus resulted in an 11-fold increase in antibodies neutralization against all variants. In contrast, the variant-specific vaccines improved things in a slight manner.

The vaccine recipients had antibody levels 1.5 times higher than those who received the ancestral strain shot.

She added that the variant-modified booster would provide better protection than the ancestral-based booster, even if it is not matched. She urges everyone who had initial vaccines to get boosters, as it is important in the current times.

Check out more news and information on Covid-19 in Science Times.