Covid-19 vaccine booster study success
Six Covid-19 vaccines are safe and boost immunity for people who have had two doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech, results from the UK-wide COV-BOOST trial show.
The world-first study, which recruited volunteers at the Dorset Research Hub based at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, was key to shaping the UK booster programme and gives vital evidence for global vaccination efforts. The study, led by University Hospital Southampton, has had its latest results published in The Lancet.
COV-BOOST looked at the safety, immune responses and side-effects of seven vaccines when used as a third, booster jab. Almost 150 volunteers joined the study across Dorset.
Run at 18 National Institute for Health Research-supported sites, the study saw 2,878 people aged 30 or over recruited. Participants received one of these boosters 10-12 weeks after their initial two-dose vaccination with either AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech. A control group was given a meningitis vaccine, to account for reactions not specific to the COVID-19 jabs.
Professor Saul Faust, trial lead and Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS), said: “It’s really encouraging that a wide range of vaccines, using different technologies, show benefits as a booster dose to either of these vaccines. That gives confidence and flexibility in developing booster programmes here and globally, with other factors like supply chain and logistics also in play.”
There were large differences in spike protein antibody levels after 28 days across the vaccines. In people who had received two initial doses of AstraZeneca, these ranged from 1.8 times higher to 32.3 times higher with different booster vaccines. For those who had received Pfizer-BioNTech initially, the range was 1.3 times higher to 11.5 times higher. Booster results were similar for those aged 30-69 years and those aged 70 years or older.
The study also looked at immune T-cell responses. T-cells are likely to be important in controlling disease severity, although their impact on overall protection or longevity of immunity is not yet known. COV-BOOST reported T-cell responses in several combinations of initial and booster vaccines, however these were not predictable based on spike protein antibody levels.
Reactions to all seven vaccines were similar, with fatigue, headache, and injection site pain most often reported. These were more commonly reported by those aged 30-69. 912 of the 2,878 participants experienced a total of 1,036 adverse events, only 24 of which were severe.
Dr Patrick Moore, a Dorset GP and local investigator for the study, said: “I would like to thank our trial participants who continue to generously give their time to support this important research. Their contributions have significantly informed the UK booster programme.
“I am proud that the Dorset Research Hub at University Hospitals Dorset continues to play such an important role in the fight against Covid-19. I hope the results of this trial, particularly the safety data, helps to reassure those who are now being called for their booster vaccination.”
Images from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Professor Andrew Ustianowski, National Clinical Lead for the UK NIHR COVID Vaccine Research Programme, said: “Heading into the winter, and due to the emergence of the Omicron, the results from the COV-Boost study are extremely timely and of national and international importance.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic the National Institute for Health Research and the NHS have been supported by the efforts and selflessness of study participants - helping us to identify the most effective vaccines and how they can be used flexibly to protect more people."
COV-BOOST was designed so that stored samples can used in evaluating these vaccines’ effectiveness in neutralising any new variants of concern, and COV-BOOST samples have been made available to UKHSA for testing against omicron.
