Covid-19: AstraZeneca ensures that a third dose of its vaccine protects against the Omicron variant

After Pfizer and Moderna, it is the turn of the AstraZeneca laboratory to ensure that a booster dose of its vaccine is effective against the Omicron variant. The Anglo-Swedish giant said in a statement that a third dose of Vaxzevria was increasing “significantly” the level of antibodies against Omicron, as it sweeps across Europe and the United States.

These results were presented thanks to a study carried out “independently” by researchers at the University of Oxford, with which AstraZeneca designed its vaccine, barely a month after the appearance of the new variant, at first glance much more contagious.

In this press release, the pharmaceutical company specifies that the levels of neutralizing antibodies Omicron after a third dose of its vaccine were “broadly similar to the levels achieved after two doses against the Delta variant”. AstraZeneca further states that the levels observed after a third dose were “higher than antibodies found in individuals who had previously been infected and recovered naturally” other variants of Covid-19.

This therefore brings the number of vaccines resistant to the new variant to three, after similar announcements from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna. “It is very encouraging to see that current vaccines have protective potential against Omicron after a third booster dose.” commented John Bell, one of the Oxford University researchers who conducted the study.

This announcement may also allow the vaccine to be reinstated from this laboratory. Vaxzevria was in fact not selected for booster doses in the United Kingdom, although this country had mainly used this vaccine for the first two doses, alongside Pfizer / BioNTech. Developed countries are now favoring mRNA vaccines while AstraZeneca’s serum is mainly redirected to the international Covax program, aimed at lower-income countries.

In a separate press release, the Anglo-Swedish giant at the same time announces that its cocktail of long-acting antibodies Evusheld for the prevention of Covid remains effective against the Omicron variant, according to a study by the University of Oxford and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, United States.

American health authorities have authorized the administration of synthetic antibodies developed by AstraZeneca in certain individuals who react poorly to vaccines for medical reasons, in order to protect them against Covid-19 even before any exposure to the virus. This is the first time that the US Medicines Agency has authorized such a pure prevention treatment as an emergency.