The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is still aiming to approve updated Covid-19 vaccines by the fall. The EMA is working on the possible approval of modified vaccines in September, Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s head of vaccine strategy, said at a press conference the agency held on Thursday.
The EMA is open to several next-generation Covid vaccines and is willing to consider those adapted to the currently predominant omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. However, these vaccines may come too late for the EU Member States’ planned autumn vaccination campaigns.
The EMA therefore gave preference to vaccines developed on the basis of the ommicron variant BA.1, which had led to a huge increase in infections last winter.
Omicron variants reshuffle cards
While existing corona vaccines continue to offer good protection against hospitalization and death, the effectiveness of the vaccines has decreased as the virus has evolved. Vaccines against the newer sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are currently causing a peak in infections worldwide, have only recently been clinically developed.
It is therefore also a matter of time how quickly such a vaccine can become available, says Cavaleri. “For now, we think it is very good to keep all options open and not exclude any of these candidates from a possible approval.” Because it is impossible to predict which variant will dominate in the autumn.
US only releases vaccines to a limited extent
The US Food and Drug Administration has already advocated modified vaccines to combat BA.4 and BA.5 and not the BA.1 variant. However, the partners Biontech/Pfizer and the American biotech group Moderna have developed adapted vaccines against this and are already in the starting blocks. Early data showed that the vaccines also performed well against BA.4 and BA.5 – albeit to a much lesser extent than against BA.1.
Moderna had said it would take until late October or early November for the company to develop a vaccine against the newer subvariants. Pfizer and Biontech say they already have a significant amount of BA.1 vaccine available and are also preparing to produce a large amount of BA.4 and BA.5 vaccine.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
