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The Virus/Biontech Alliance announced that it has started receiving volunteers for a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of the vaccine against mutant Omicron against the Corona virus, in people as young as 55 years old.
And Pfizer CEO Albert Borla had announced at the beginning of January that the American laboratory might be ready to request the necessary permits for a new vaccine targeting this mutated virus, to be launched as early as March.
Catherine Janssen, head of vaccines at Firz, said in a statement that while current data indicate that booster doses of the original vaccine protect against the dangerous symptoms of Omicron, the company prefers to act with greater caution.
“We understand the importance of being prepared in the event that protection declines over time, and of helping to combat Omicron and other mutants in the future,” she added.
For German Biontech CEO Ugur Sahin, the basic vaccine’s protection against mild or moderate forms of COVID-19 appears to wane most quickly with Omicron.
He explained, “This study is part of our scientific approach that aims to develop vaccines targeting the mutant and was able to develop similar levels of protection against Omicron, as is the case for previous mutant, but with a longer protection period.”
The clinical trial includes 1,420 people aged between 18 and 55 years.
A spokesperson for “Pfizer” told AFP that the experiment does not include people over 55 years of age because the study’s goal is to measure the participants’ immune response and not to estimate the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The trial is taking place across the United States and South Africa, and the first injection was given to a participant in North Carolina.
The participants in the experiment are divided into three groups.
The first group includes people who received two doses of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine 90 to 180 days before the trial, and they will receive one or two doses of the new vaccine.
The second includes individuals who have received their third dose, or booster, before the same period, and they will either receive a new dose of the basic vaccine or a dose of the upgraded vaccine against Omicron.
As for the third group, it includes people who have not received any vaccine against Covid-19 and will receive three doses of the vaccine designed against the Omicron mutant.
And the initial vaccine developed by “Pfizer” and “Biontech” was the first to receive the green light in Western countries, in December 2020.