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Oxford study participants help show positive COVID booster vaccines results

6 December 2021
1 min read

Six COVID-19 vaccines are safe and boost immunity for people who have had two doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech, results from the UK-wide COV-BOOST trial show.

The world-first study, which recruited volunteers at Oxford Vaccine Group at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, was key to shaping the UK booster programme and gives vital evidence for global vaccination efforts. The study, led by University Hospital Southampton, has had it’s latest results published in the Lancet.

COV-BOOST looked at the safety, immune responses and side-effects of seven vaccines when used as a third, booster jab. A total 187 volunteers joined the study in Oxford.

Run at 18 National Institute for Health Research-supported sites, the study saw 2,878 people aged 30 or over recruited. Participants received one of these boosters 10-12 weeks after their initial two-dose vaccination with either AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech. A control group was given a meningitis vaccine, to account for reactions not specific to the COVID-19 jabs.

The seven vaccines trialled were:

AstraZeneca-Oxford
Pfizer-BioNTech
Moderna
Novavax
Valneva
Janssen
CureVac

Of these, only AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen are currently licensed for use in the UK. Half-doses of Pfizer-BioNtech, Novavax and Valneva were also tested.

Dr Angela Minassian, the study’s Principal Investigator at Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “This study has, for the first time, demonstrated the ability of a wide range of vaccines to safely and effectively boost pre-existing immune responses induced by the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

“More follow-up data is required to confirm the durability of these boosted responses and whether this translates into longer-term protection from COVID-19 disease. However, the current data are hugely encouraging and also support using lower doses of vaccines, particularly of the mRNA vaccines, as boosters. This is good news for preserving vaccine supply in addition to allowing flexibility of schedules as countries develop their booster campaigns”