Preliminary results from a Moderna clinical trial have shown that the new version of the Covid-19 vaccine produces a more robust antibody response.

According to the pharmaceutical company, it confers eight times more antibodies against the Omicron variant compared to a booster dose of the current immunizer. The vaccine is expected to be available in September.

In a statement quoted by Notícias ao Minuto, Moderna explains that it is a bivalent vaccine that includes information from the original strain of the virus. This means that it combats the original virus, the Ómicron variant and its sub-variants.

"We will send this preliminary data and analysis to the regulatory bodies with the hope that the bivalent booster will be available by the end of the summer," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel stressed in the same note.

Moderna's study involved 437 participants: one group received the Omicron version as a second booster dose (fourth dose) and the other half received the original vaccine. The new formulation was well tolerated by all volunteers and no serious side effects were reported. The number of antibodies produced for other variants, such as Delta and Alpha, was also higher.

Pfizer/BioNTech, meanwhile, has a study underway on a specific booster for the Omicron variant and expects to have data soon.