FDA Vaccine Advisers 'Disappointed' and 'Angry' That Early Data About New Covid-19 Booster Shot Wasn't Presented For Review Last Year

An anonymous reader writes: The pharmaceutical company Moderna didn't present a set of infection data on the company's new Covid-19 booster during meetings last year when [FDA] advisers discussed whether the shot should be authorized and made available to the publicThat data suggested the possibility that the updated booster might not be any more effective at preventing Covid-19 infections than the original shots. Specifically, Moderna hid data on actual infection rates among patients who were administered the original booster and those who got the bivalent "vaccine." The reason is obvious: The data showed that the original booster resulted in fewer infections than the bivalent version, which clearly wouldn't be good news for sales. 1.9% of the study participants who received the original booster became infected. Among those who got the updated bivalent vaccine -- the one that scientists hoped would work better -- a higher percentage, 3.2%, became infected. Research released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that "boosting with new bivalent mRNA vaccines targeting both the BA.4-BA.5 variant and the D614G strain did not elicit a discernibly superior virus-neutralizing peak antibody response as compared with boosting with the original monovalent vaccines." In English, that means they don't work as promised.

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