China National Biotec Group is set to start clinical trials of its two Omicron-specific vaccine candidates
Scientists say vaccines based on older strains show weaker activity to neutralise the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Two Covid-19 vaccine candidates developed by units of China National Biotec Group to target the Omicron variant have been approved for clinical trials as boosters in Hong Kong. The two candidates, both containing inactivated or "killed" Omicron virus and similar to the two Sinopharm vaccines in use in China, will be tested in adults who have already received two or three vaccine doses, CNBG said in a statement on Saturday.
Scientists worldwide are racing to study upgraded injections against Omicron, as data indicated that antibodies elicited by vaccines based on older strains show weaker activity to neutralise the highly transmissible variant.It did not specify which vaccine products the trial participants would have received before taking the experimental booster, or how many subjects would be recruited.
While the fourth dose did restore antibody levels to around the peak levels that followed the third dose, researchers said new vaccines would offer a better alternative as future boosters.
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