University of Birmingham in COVID-19 booster vaccines clinical trial

Six COVID-19 vaccines are safe and boost immunity for people who have had two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca, show results from a UK-wide trial carried out in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. The latest results from the world-first study COV-BOOST are published in The Lancet and have been key in shaping the UK booster programme, providing vital evidence for global vaccination efforts. The trial investigated the safety, side-effects of, and immune response to, seven vaccines when used as a third booster jab. Trial participants received one of these boosters 10-12 weeks after their initial two-dose vaccination with either Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. A control group was given a meningitis vaccine to account for reactions not specific to the COVID-19 jabs.¹ The seven vaccines trialled were: - Oxford/AstraZeneca Pfizer/BioNTech Moderna Novavax Valneva Janssen CureVac - Of these, only the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines are currently licensed for use in the UK. Half-doses of Pfizer/BioNtech, Novavax and Valneva were also tested. Led by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS), the trial recruited over 2,800 participants aged 30 or over through National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-supported sites including one co-hosted by the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.