Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Bivalent Boost

Moderna says that a modified vaccine booster it developed generates an even stronger immune response against the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant than its original, the Wall Street Journal writes.

It adds that this new bivalent booster targets both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the Omicron variant. Moderna assessed this modified vaccine to find that it was well tolerated in 437 individuals who received it and that it led to an eight-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant.

"I think the data clearly show this is a superior booster," Moderna President Stephen Hoge tells the Journal.

The Journal notes, though, that the trial the company conducted — the data from which has not yet undergone peer review — did not look at the efficacy of the new booster.

In a statement, Stéphane Bancel, Moderna's CEO says that this bivalent booster is the company's "lead candidate for a Fall 2022 booster." The company adds that it plans to submit its data to regulators in the next few weeks.

Filed under

The Scan

ChatGPT Does As Well As Humans Answering Genetics Questions, Study Finds

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics had ChatGPT answer genetics-related questions, finding it was about 68 percent accurate, but sometimes gave different answers to the same question.

Sequencing Analysis Examines Gene Regulatory Networks of Honeybee Soldier, Forager Brains

Researchers in Nature Ecology & Evolution find gene regulatory network differences between soldiers and foragers, suggesting bees can take on either role.

Analysis of Ashkenazi Jewish Cohort Uncovers New Genetic Loci Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

The study in Alzheimer's & Dementia highlighted known genes, but also novel ones with biological ties to Alzheimer's disease.

Tara Pacific Expedition Project Team Finds High Diversity Within Coral Reef Microbiome

In papers appearing in Nature Communications and elsewhere, the team reports on findings from the two-year excursion examining coral reefs.