A study looking at coronavirus vaccine boosters has launched in the U.K. to test the effects of an extra dose.
The trial, hailed by the British government as a world-first for the COVID-19 jab, will assess Oxford/AstraZeneca, BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, Valneva, Johnson & Johnson and CureVac vaccines as potential booster shots that would be given 10 to 12 weeks after a second dose is given as part of the country’s ongoing vaccination campaign. The booster shot could be a different brand from the one originally used.
Drugmakers are already carrying out studies on the response to booster shots but the U.K. trial will specifically examine the immune response of different brands of vaccine side-by-side.
The study comes as governments debate how to reopen amid concern about the spread of new variants of concern. In a statement Wednesday, the U.K. health department said that the government was already preparing for a booster program based on clinical need, with details on this to be published “in due course.”
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to clarify that there are other trials of coronavirus booster shots.