Leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms Pfizer and BioNTech announced the beginning of the clinical trials for their vaccine that targets the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Brussels Times reported on Tuesday.
The earliest stage of the clinical trials will include 1420 people and they will be divided into three groups.
Three main features of the vaccine would be evaluated and they are tolerability, efficacy, and safety.
The CEO of BioNTech Ugur Sahin said in a press release: “The study is part of our scientific approach to develop a variant-based vaccine that provides similar protection against Omicron as we observed with the previous variants, which also lasts longer.”
Regarding the division of the groups, the first group would contain 605 participants and they received two doses of the available vaccine between 90 and 180 days before the study and they will now receive one or two doses of the newly developed one for Omicron.
The second one will involve 600 people who received a booster. They will receive an additional shot of the current Pfizer vaccine or a dose of the Omicron-targeted vaccine.
The third division will contain 205 people and they are non-vaccinated people who never contracted Coronavirus; therefore, they will receive three doses of the Omicron vaccine.
