Moderna says one of its COVID-19 booster candidates better protects against BA.4 and BA.5

Moderna Inc. said Monday that a bivalent COVID-19 booster that equally protects against BA.1 and the original strain of the virus produced a better antibody response against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in people who were fully vaccinated and boosted than its currently authorized COVID-19 booster. The new data tested neutralizing antibody levels one month after the second booster was administered, and the findings were consistent across age groups, the company said. Moderna is also developing a bivalent booster that specifically targets BA.4 and BA.5 as well as the original strain of the virus, per the recent guidance from the Food and Drug Administration. The company has been working on the BA.1-containing bivalent booster for several months. Moderna’s stock has dropped 30.6% so far this year, while the broader S&P 500 has declined 18.2%.

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