Covid-19 news: Booster vaccines in England planned for September newscientist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newscientist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Scientists at Oxford University have revealed the results of trials which show that people who have had two doses of the AztraZeneca vaccine have their immunity against Covid greatly enhanced if they are given a third booster jab.
The scientists found that the participants’ antibodies were “significantly higher” after the third injection compared to levels 28 days after their second doses.
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The researchers detected higher levels of neutralising antibodies that protect against the Alpha variant and the Delta variant after the third jab, while T-cell responses were also boosted.
On Sunday, Oxford University began administering doses of a new Covid jab called AZD2816 that targets the Beta variant.
Covid-19 news: High-grade masks cut infections in healthcare workers newscientist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newscientist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
AstraZeneca tests booster jab against Covid variant
June 28, 2021
LONDON: AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Sunday began new trials to test a modified vaccine against the Beta variant, which first emerged in South Africa.
The ‘booster’ vaccine’s trial will involve around 2,250 participants from Britain, South Africa, Brazil and Poland. They include people who have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the original Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine or an mRNA vaccine such as Pfizer as well as those who have not got the jab at all.
The new vaccine, known as AZD2816, has been designed using the same base as the main AstraZeneca shot but with minor genetic alterations to the spike protein based on the Beta variant.
Highlights
This new booster COVID-19 vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca, is known as AZD2816.
New Delhi: The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca along with the University of Oxford on Sunday (June 27, 2021) started new trials to assess a modified vaccine against the Beta variant of COVID-19, which first emerged in South Africa. According to AFP reports, the booster COVID-19 vaccine trials will be conducted upon 2,250 individuals from Britain, South Africa, Brazil and Poland.
These 2,250 participants are those who have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the original Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine or an mRNA vaccine such as Pfizer.
This new booster COVID-19 vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca, is known as AZD2816. According to the report, this new booster COVID-19 vaccine has also been designed using the same base as the main AstraZeneca shot but with minor genetic alterations