Last checked at 
(Adds detail from study, background)
Jan 13 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Thursday
preliminary data from a trial it conducted on its COVID-19 shot,
Vaxzevria, showed it generated a higher antibody response
against the Omicron variant and others, including Beta, Delta,
Alpha and Gamma, when given as a third booster dose.
The increased response was seen in people who were
previously vaccinated with either Vaxzevria or an mRNA vaccine,
the drugmaker said, adding that it would submit this data to
regulators worldwide given the urgent need for boosters.
AstraZeneca has developed the vaccine with researchers from
the University of Oxford, and lab studies last month found a
three-dose course of Vaxzevria was effective https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazeneca-shot-third-dose-works-against-omicron-study-2021-12-23
against the rapidly spreading new variant.
The data is the first released by the company from its
trials into boosters of its vaccine.
The company said it adds to the growing evidence that
supports a third dose of its vaccine irrespective of the primary
vaccination schedule.
"These important studies show that a third dose of Vaxzevria
after two initial doses of the same vaccine, or after mRNA or
inactivated vaccines, strongly boosts immunity against
COVID-19," Oxford Vaccine Group chief Andrew Pollard said in a
statement.
A major British trial in December found that AstraZeneca's
shot increased antibodies when given as a booster after initial
vaccination with its own shot or Pfizer's, which is
based on mRNA technology.
However, the study concluded that mRNA vaccines made by
Pfizer and Moderna gave the biggest boost to antibodies
when given as a booster dose.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; editing by
Subhranshu Sahu and Jason Neely)
