UK started its booster shot trial of different COVID-19 vaccines.
The United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday started its booster shot (third dose) clinical trial of seven different COVID-19 vaccines.
The United Kingdom recently launched a nationwide study to explore whether giving a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine would be safe and effective in extending the immune protection against the coronavirus disease.
Aiming to recruit nearly 3,000 participants, the said trial will look at seven different COVID-19 vaccines and some of which were already approved by regulators and in wide use and others that were still in development.
British officials had been planning for the possibility of a booster vaccination campaign before the winter after initially targeting inoculation with a two-dose schedule for the whole adult population by the summer.
Major COVID-19 vaccine makers, as well as some policymakers in the US, have also suggested that booster shots or even annual COVID-19 shots might be needed.
However, some global health experts have questioned whether there’s evidence to show such repeat inoculations were necessary.
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The COVID-19 vaccines being evaluated include the following: Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford, and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines already being rolled out in the United Kingdom, as well as COVID-19 vaccines from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Novavax, Valneva, and CureVac, for which the United Kingdom had future supply deals.
They’ll be given as third shots to people who have received two doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine already, with initial findings expected in September this year.
“The data from this world-first clinical trial will help shape the plans for our booster program later this year,” health minister Matt Hancock said.
Hancock added that the United Kingdom would host in-person G7 health ministers meeting in Oxford on June 3-4 ahead of a leaders meeting later in the month.
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