--- description: The Moderna vaccine and booster don't protect against Omicron as well as they do against the original SARS-CoV-2. Here's what to know. title: Moderna Booster May Wane After 6 Months, Company Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc331a897391b537/698a21e1929fad785ebf8369/GettyImages-1237691143.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [COVID-19](/tag/covid-19/) ## COVID-19 Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Moderna Booster May Wane After 6 Months, Company Says ## Video: The Miracle Workers: The Scientists Behind The COVID-19 Vaccine [Watch (HLS stream): The Miracle Workers: The Scientists Behind The COVID-19 Vaccine](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BTNvQC2o.m3u8) (5:16)  _Published 2021-12-13. For those of us lucky enough to live in wealthy countries with access to these top-shelf vaccines, it has made all the difference. The miracle workers behind the COVID-19 vaccines are the TIME Heroes of the Year not only because they gave the world a defense against a pathogen, but also because the manner of that astonishing achievement guards more than our health: they channeled their ambitions to the common good, talked to one another and trusted in facts._  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 26, 2022 10:51 PM CUT  Medical staff before inoculating teachers with the Moderna vaccine (booster) against COVID-19 on the premises of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, during the health emergency and the green epidemiological traffic light in the capital. (Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Medical staff before inoculating teachers with the Moderna vaccine (booster) against COVID-19 on the premises of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, during the health emergency and the green epidemiological traffic light in the capital. (Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty Images—Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 26, 2022 10:51 PM CUT Moderna reported today the first data on how well its currently authorized vaccine and booster hold up against the [Omicron variant](https://time.com/6138293/omicron-symptoms-covid-19/ "undefined"), which quickly dominated new infections around the world after health experts first described the variant last November. The company also announced that it is starting to study its Omicron-specific vaccine. In a [correspondence published in the _New England Journal of Medicine_](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2119912?query=featured%5Fhome "undefined"), the company’s scientists reported the results of a study involving blood samples from a small number of vaccinated participants. Antibody levels generated by Moderna’s primary two-dose regimen continued to neutralize Omicron in lab tests, but these levels were 35 times lower against Omicron than the original SARS-CoV-2, against which the vaccine was designed. A booster dose of the vaccine—which is half of one dose of the original shot—increased antibody levels in 20 study participants to 20 times higher than levels generated after the second dose of the vaccine, therefore restoring some of the waned protection. The scientists also tested a booster at the same dose as the primary two doses in another 20 volunteers, and that booster produced antibody levels that were at least two times higher than those generated by the half-dose booster. Currently, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized only the half-dose booster of Moderna’s shot, based on data before Omicron emerged that the half dose elicited similar antibody levels against previous variants as another full-dose booster. **Read More**: [_We Urgently Need a New National COVID-19 Response Plan_](https://time.com/6142718/we-need-new-national-covid-19-response-plan/ "undefined") These antibodies against Omicron started to wane after about six months, the company reported. After hitting a peak about a month after the booster, neutralizing antibody levels dropped 6.3 fold; even more concerning, this decline occurred more quickly than the decline against the original virus that the vaccine targeted. Such rapid waning of protection after boosting with the existing vaccine makes a strong case for potentially boosting with an Omicron-specific shot, which the company is studying. That trial will include 300 people in 24 sites across the U.S. (This week, Pfizer and BioNTech also [announced that they have started testing an Omicron-specific vaccine](https://time.com/6141812/omicron-specific-vaccine-pfizer/ "undefined").) Moderna’s scientists are also evaluating combination vaccines, in which they put together vaccines developed for different variants, including one that targets the original virus and one that targets Omicron. Such a cocktail approach may provide broader, more durable protection against COVID-19. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6142852/moderna-booster-wanes-omicron/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6142852/moderna-booster-wanes-omicron/"},"headline":"Moderna Booster May Wane After 6 Months, Company Says","datePublished":"2022-01-26T22:51:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T10:45:30.995Z","description":"The Moderna vaccine and booster don't protect against Omicron as well as they do against the original SARS-CoV-2","url":"https://time.com/6142852/moderna-booster-wanes-omicron/","keywords":["COVID-19","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc331a897391b537/698a21e1929fad785ebf8369/GettyImages-1237691143.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc331a897391b537/698a21e1929fad785ebf8369/GettyImages-1237691143.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Teachers Receive (booster) Of The Biologic Moderna Against COVID-19 In Mexico City","caption":"Teachers Receive (booster) Of The Biologic Moderna Against COVID-19 In Mexico City","creditText":"NurPhoto via Getty Images—Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6142852/moderna-booster-wanes-omicron/","name":"Moderna Booster May Wane After 6 Months, Company Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Miracle Workers: The Scientists Behind The COVID-19 Vaccine","description":"For those of us lucky enough to live in wealthy countries with access to these top-shelf vaccines, it has made all the difference. 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