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December 8, 2021, 7:32 AM
The vaccine makers say the booster raises the antibodies 25-fold.
The companies are working on a version of their shot.
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said initial lab studies show that a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine will accelerate booster shot drives around the world.
The companies said that a booster with the current version of the vaccine raises the level of the antibodies 25-fold. They said that T-cells still provide protection against illness.
The partners are confident that they will have an omicron-specific version of the vaccine ready for delivery by March 2022.
The news of the study outcome helped buoy the U.S. stock market. Pfizer shares were up in premarket trading in New York, while BioNTech shares were down.
The companies said that the reduction in neutralizing antibody levels when compared with the original strain of the virus was 25-fold.
The results show that a third shot can patch the holes in the body's defense against omicron after the initial two shots. Travel restrictions have been put in place due to uncertainty over vaccine efficacy against the new variant.
Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in a statement that protection is improved with a third dose. The data shows that a third dose could still offer enough protection from disease.
The partners are studying the new variant. It is possible that people will still be protected against severe forms of Covid, thanks to T cells that aren't affected by the variant's mutations, the companies said.
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