Scientists to test seven vaccines for possible protection against new variants in effort to avert winter surge in infections
Thousands of volunteers will be injected with a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine as part of a trial to investigate which ones could be used as “booster” doses to protect against new variants and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by a potential fresh wave of infections this winter.
The Cov-Boost trial – the first in the world to provide vital data on the impact of a third dose on patients’ immune responses – will study the effect of giving an additional dose of one of seven different vaccines to 2,886 UK participants, on top of the two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines they have already received.
