US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech said on Thursday they would try to get approval for a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine they developed to increase the vaccine’s effectiveness at a time when the new coronavirus delta is spreading and the number of infections resumes In Europe and the United States.
The delta strain is the most infectious strain of the virus since the onset of the global pandemic in early 2020. It was first detected in India several months ago, but has spread rapidly and is contributing to a faster increase in Covid-19 cases, even in countries where vaccination is very active.
Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that they expect the third dose to be highly effective against the delta variant and will seek approval in the United States, Europe and other regions in the coming weeks.
Preliminary data from an ongoing trial show that after the third dose, antibody levels to the initial coronavirus variant and beta, first detected in South Africa, increased five to 10 times compared to the first two doses.
Both companies stated that they expected similar results for the delta strain, but added that they were also developing a vaccine specifically against this strain.
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