The EU's drug
watchdog said Wednesday it aims
to approve this autumn a
Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine
adapted for two fast-spreading
subvariants of the Omicron strain.
The BA.4 and BA.5 types are
driving a wave of new cases in
Europe and the United States,
prompting the World Health
Organization to warn that the pandemic is nowhere near over.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it had launched on Monday a review
of an adapted version of the Pfizer jab targeting those two types, which are more US FDA detects
probable human
EU taps Moderna for
more Covid variant jabs
Antibodies that can lead
to vaccination for all
Covid strains found
Indian companies eye
new trade channels in
Pharma pfizer covid world health organization omicron moderna
health news
transmissible and immune evasive than earlier Covid versions.
"EMA is expecting to receive an application for the BA.4/5 adapted vaccine
developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, which will be evaluated for a potential rapid
approval in the fall," an EMA spokesman told AFP in an emailed statement.
That would come "shortly after" the expected approval of two other adapted
vaccines by Pfizer and its rival Moderna, which target the original Covid virus and
the earlier BA.1 subvariant of Omicron, the spokesman said.
Both Pfizer and Moderna had lodged separate applications for approval of those
vaccines on July 22, the spokesman said.
The EMA has previously said the first Omicron-adapted jabs could be approved as
early as September.
