The European Commission has approved two vaccines, adapted to provide greater protection against COVID-19, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Friday on Twitter. These are adapted versions of BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna preparations aimed at combating the Omikron BA.1 sub-variant, in addition to the original SARS-CoV-2 strain.
- Bivalent vaccines, i.e. vaccines developed on the basis of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Omikron variant, developed by Pfizer and Moderna, were approved on Thursday by the European Medicines Agency
- On the same day, the consent for their use was issued by the European Commission, which was announced by the EU Health Commissioner
- Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced that vaccines will soon be available in Poland
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
There is approval for vaccines against Omikron
On September 1, the Committee for Medicines for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the approval of two vaccines targeting the Omikron BA.1 sub-option in addition to the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. These are preparations by BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna.
A day later, information appeared that the consent to their use – still on Thursday – was given by the European Commission. This was reported on Twitter by EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
“More approvals should follow soon, starting vaccination campaigns in EU Member States,” Kyriakides announced.
Comirnaty Original / Omicron BA.1 and Spikevax Bivalent Original / Omicron BA.1 are intended for use in people 12 years of age and older who have received at least the basic immunization against Covid-19.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced on Thursday that the preparations will soon be available in Poland.
Bivalent vaccine – what is it?
As highlighted by the EMA in the published release, vaccines are being modified to more effectively counter circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.
A bivalent (bivalent) vaccine is more versatile than a preparation directed against only one variant. It was developed on the basis of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Omikron variant. This allows it to fight off two different strains of the virus and possibly provide immunity in the event of new, yet unknown variants of the coronavirus emerging.
«Studies have shown that Comirnaty Original / Omicron BA.1 and Spikevax Bivalent Original / Omicron BA.1 can elicit a strong immune response against Omikron BA.1 and the original SARS-CoV-2 strain in previously vaccinated individuals. In particular, they were more effective in eliciting immune responses against the BA.1 sub-variant than the original vaccines. The side effects seen with the adapted vaccines were comparable to those seen with the original vaccines and were generally mild and short-lived, »the EMA reported on Thursday.