Sinopharm protein-based booster stronger against Omicron than earlier shot

Name: A look back at lockdowns, vaccines and variants defining the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021
Uploaded: 2022-01-07T12:43:33.000Z
Duration: 3 min 35 s
Description: A look back at lockdowns, vaccines and variants defining the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021

Newer formula induces greater antibody response in people given two doses of the original, researchers say in non-peer-reviewed paper

Study authors caution that it’s still not clear how long the effects of the boosters will last

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Sinopharm’s NVSI-06-07 protein-based vaccine was approved for emergency use as a booster in the United Arab Emirates in December. Photo: Shutterstock

Reuters

Published: 8:43pm, 7 Jan 2022

A protein-based Covid-19 booster vaccine made by Sinopharm elicited a stronger antibody response against the Omicron variant when given as a booster after two doses of an earlier shot from the Chinese firm than a third dose of the original, a study showed.

The study which was published on Tuesday and had not been peer reviewed, came amid concerns over the effectiveness of Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV shot, one of the two leading Covid-19 vaccines exported by China, against the Omicron variant.

An earlier study showed a BBIBP-CorV booster had weaker neutralisation against Omicron than against an older coronavirus strain from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Sinopharm’s NVSI-06-07 protein-based vaccine, approved for emergency use as a booster in the United Arab Emirates in December, adopts a different technology than the BBIBP-CorV shot that contains an inactivated form of the coronavirus.

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A look back at lockdowns, vaccines and variants defining the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021

Among 192 healthy adults vaccinated with two BBIBP-CorV doses for six months or longer, the neutralising antibody level against Omicron in those later given a NVSI-06-07 booster was “significantly higher” than that in those who received a BBIBP-CorV third dose, researchers said in a paper.

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