a vaccine that s similar to moderna s. it would only cost a fraction of the price. we have a target which is around $2. we cannot tell yet whether we can get to that, but we re certainly working towards a target. i think it s absolutely essential that this continent establish its own end to end vaccine manufacturing capacity and capability. this laboratory is part of an information hub set up by the world health organisation to share information about vaccines, but drug companies like moderna have refused to take part. and that means the cheaper south african vaccine could be delayed by up to three years. moderna has not shared anything with afrigen specifically, or with the hub specifically. moderna does share in their weekly scientific discussions with the global community,
that was the message from chris whitty last week, and it was really very clear. you know, you need to make the priorities. and most people are pretty smart and pretty sensible about doing that. us pharmaceutical company moderna have said that a booster dose of its covid 19 vaccine appeared to be protective against the omicron variant in laboratory testing. their research shows that a 50 microgram booster dose which is standardly given in the uk increased neutralizing antibodies against the variant 37 fold. a higher, 100 microgram booster dose of the same vaccine drove antibody levels even higher. the company also says it plans to develop a vaccine specifically to protect against omicron, which it hopes to advance into a new covid drug designed to reduce the risk of vulnerable patients
today for people who received the single dose johnson & johnson vaccine. the company says new data shows it is holding up against covid-19 variants and j&j says a booster could do even more if given within two months of the first shot, a second dose can provide 94% protection against moderate to severe covid, both pfizer and moderna have said booster of their vaccines will increase antibodies, especially in people over the age of 65. last month the white house said boosters would be widely available in september, but the fda has yet to authorize extra shots for any of the vaccines except for people whose immune systems are compromised. my body doesn t make enough antibodies to any disease, i have to be extra careful and extra protected. reporter: sarah got her third shot in july for you personally, how much better do you feel having that booster? so after every single dose, it is just a little bit of more relief.
and go out and do it on their own. stephanie, within days, we could see the pfizer vaccine approved for 65 and older. if that happens and you are sitting here with moderna or j&j shot, where does it leave you? lester, you said it this is a decision on the pfizer booster for people that got moderna and johnson & johnson, they re going to have to wait. stephanie, thanks very much. there s breaking news in the gabby petito case. the fbi announcing it has identifie remains found in wyoming as hers while the search for her fiance resumed today in florida as suspicion of his involvement grows. miguel almaguer has the latest. reporter: gabby petito s body was officially identified today. the coroner now ruling her death a homicide discovered in a remote stretch of wyoming s teton mountain range, authorities haven t said how she died but named her missing fiance, brian laundrie, a person of interest. from minute one, brian laundrie has done absolutely
pfizer and moderna have submitted ed that seems to suggest that six months after the initial round of vaccination would be the right time to get a booster. that s an update. and also, that there s a consideration of simultaneously authorizing boosters for folks who got j&j as well. i think there s ample evidence that vaccine effectiveness wains over time, certainly less than a year, from six to eight months and boosters can t come soon enough. compromised people, reaching out to folks who are particularly immunocompromised and we re administering those boosters already. we ve talked about how you handled this inside your own hospital to get your own people vaccinated. you put in a mandate at your hospital. you went from 55% vaccination