The European Union’s medicines regulator on Monday recommended approval of an updated version of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants as a booster dose, Reuters reported.
The so-called bivalent vaccine targets both subvariants and the parent strain of the virus, which first appeared in China in December 2019.
“EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the authorization of an adapted bivalent vaccine targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in addition to the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. This recommendation will further expand the arsenal of vaccines available to protect people against COVID-19 as the pandemic continues and new waves of infection are expected in the cold season,” the EMA said in a statement.
Although existing coronavirus vaccines offer good protection against hospitalization and death, their effectiveness has been reduced as the virus has evolved.
Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5 is recommended for use by persons aged 12 and over.
Earlier this month, the EMA approved Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s updated vaccines for the BA.1 subtype.
In recent months, EU officials have indicated that they are willing to use vaccines targeting the older BA.1 subvariant first, given that those specifically targeting the newer Omicron BA.4/5 subvariants are further behind in development.
Source: Hot News RU
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