Rochester Leads New COVID-19 Vaccine Trial for Booster Shot
Rochester, NY, is once again at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine research. The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Rochester Regional Health (RRH) have initiated a new clinical trial to explore the safety and efficacy of a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This comes as experts, including Dr. Ed Walsh from URMC, suggest that the virus could become seasonal and mutating, necessitating long-term vaccination strategies.
The trial, involving 144 volunteers including 35 in Rochester who participated in the phase 1 trials last spring, aims to understand the immune response to a third dose administered more than 6 months after full vaccination. It will also evaluate protection against circulating and emerging variants of the virus.
Pfizer and BioNTech, who developed the vaccine with the help of URMC and RRH since its phase 1 trials in May 2020, have begun discussions with regulatory agencies regarding studies to evaluate a modified version of their vaccine to address emerging strains. Rochester is one of four sites in the U.S. involved in the current study, led locally by Dr. Ed Walsh and Dr. Ann Falsey.
The Rochester trial is part of a broader investigation involving multiple research institutions worldwide. Pfizer's Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, has stated that the company is taking steps to be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the vaccine's protection. The results of this study will provide crucial insights into the potential need for booster shots and the effectiveness of vaccines against new variants.
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