Moderna says booster shot will provide 'good level of protection' against Omicron

Pharmaceutical giant Moderna announced Monday that a booster dose of its coronavirus vaccine raised levels of antibodies that protect against the Omicron variant significantly.

A booster dose of the Moderna vaccine, which is half the dose originally used in the shots for adults, increased antibody levels against Omicron by a factor of 37, according to preliminary company data.

The company's chief medical officer, Paul Burton, said the booster's protections "should provide some good level of protection as we go into the holiday season." The company is awaiting clinical data.

A double dose size of the normal booster shot (the same size as what is given in the main two shots) was shown to raise antibody levels by 83 times, according to the company. Such a shot was given to immunocompromised people.

Federal and state-level health officials are anticipating record levels of coronavirus cases in the coming days, similar to the levels currently being seen in New York, where record case numbers have been reported for three days running.

At present, about half of the country's coronavirus cases are of the Omicron variant, Dr. Fauci said during a CNN interview over the weekend. 

Outgoing NIH Director Francis Collins told CBS that the U.S. could soon reach 1 million new cases per day. "The big question is, are those million cases going to be sick enough to need health care and especially hospitalization?" he said. 

About 18% of Americans have received a booster shot, while about 61% have been fully vaccinated.