Moderna hopes to offer updated COVID-19 boosters in the fall that combine the original vaccine with protection against the latest variant.
An advisory panel of the World Health Organization classified on Nov. 27, 2021, a worrying new COVID-19 variant first detected in South Africa as a highly transmissible virus of concern, naming it "Omicron" under its Greek letter system.
Today's COVID-19 vaccines all are based on the original version of the coronavirus. But the virus continues to mutate, with the super-contagious omicron variant — and its siblings — the latest threat. While the antibody increase was modest, Moderna's goal is to produce a combination shot that specifically targets omicron. "These results really give us hope" that next step will work even better, said Dr. Jacqueline Miller, a Moderna vice president.COVID-19 booster: Pfizer to seek extra shot for healthy kids 5 to 11
Health officials have made clear that giving boosters every few months isn’t the answer to the mutating virus. They’ve begun deliberating how to decide if and when to change the vaccine recipe.