Updates in Vaccination: Insights from IDWeek

IDWeek 2022 has taken a look at all areas of infectious disease, exploring topics ranging from diagnostic tools to therapeutic advancements. What are some of the latest developments we’ve seen in vaccination?

Bivalent Booster Beats Original Vaccine on Omicron

According to research presented by Dr. Spyros Chalkias, Senior Medical Director of Clinical Development at Moderna, a bivalent booster vaccine targeting the Omicron BA.1 variant of the COVID-19 virus produced a higher antibody response compared to the original vaccine. New data from a phase 2/3 clinical trial also show that there are no safety concerns with the bivalent mRNA booster vaccine.

This phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of the bivalent mRNA vaccine in adults 18 and older. The data from this trial also supported the FDA’s emergency use authorization of Moderna’s bivalent boosters.

“The Omicron variants have key mutations when compared to the original virus and raised the question about the need to update COVID-19 vaccines by including Omicron sequences in the vaccine,” Dr. Chalkias said, “Our results indicate that the Omicron-containing bivalent booster vaccine has a safety profile that is similar to the original vaccine, and it induces enhanced antibody responses against the variants, compared to the original vaccine.”

The clinical trial also demonstrated that the bivalent booster vaccine produced the same level of immune response in older adults and younger adults.

According to Dr. Chalkias, given that this data was included in the emergency use authorization for children ages 6 to 11 and 12 to 17 years old, it could help inform vaccine development for other groups and be a baseline to help us develop more vaccines and boosters for future variants.

Chickenpox Now Rare in the U.S. Due to Routine Vaccination

In 1995, the United States began universally vaccinating pediatric patients against varicella, or chickenpox. Ever since then, cases of chickenpox have decreased by 97 percent. According to research presented at IDWeek 2022, for patients under 20, hospitalizations due the chickenpox have decreased by 97 percent and deaths decreased by 99 percent compared to the pre-vaccine era.

Researchers estimate that based on the data from the post-vaccine era, the chickenpox vaccine has prevented 3.8 million cases, 10,500 hospitalizations, and 100 deaths in the U.S. annually.

According to the Medical Epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, Dr. Mona Marin, the changes in the rates of infection have been an unexpected surprise.

“The significance of the vaccine program — in lives saved, in sickness and hospitalizations avoided, and in the prevention of disruption to schools and family life — cannot be overstated,” Dr. Marin said.

And the groups that have benefitted from the universal vaccination have led to a 97% decrease in chickenpox transmission to the general population, helping to protect immunocompromised patients, pregnant patients, and infants too young to be vaccinated.

“The United States was the first country in the world to implement a universal chickenpox vaccination program. This degree of control of the disease in the United States was unimaginable just 25 years ago, but picture that on a global scale,” said Dr. Marin. “As science continues to advance, the chickenpox vaccine is a testament to the transformative power of public health.”