US health authorities on Monday authorized an updated version of the Covid 19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, better suited to the variants currently in circulation.
The two companies said their new version of the vaccine would be available in the coming days for a booster campaign, as the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations is on the rise in the United States.
“Good protection” against variants
This new version was developed from the XBB.1.5 variant and should “provide good protection against currently circulating Covid-19 variants,” the US Medicines Agency (FDA) said in a statement. The two variants currently circulating the most in the United States are EG.5 and FL.1.5.1.
In a statement, Moderna said its new vaccine, tested on humans, had indeed triggered an immune response against these two variants.
Experts divided
If the FDA has authorized the new versions of the vaccine from the age of 6 months, another federal health agency, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), must hold a meeting on Tuesday to clarify for which populations a booster dose is recommended.
American experts are divided on whether the entire population should be given a new dose, or whether the focus should instead be on the frail as is the case in Europe.
An upcoming annual campaign?
“We strongly encourage eligible individuals to consider getting vaccinated,” FDA official Peter Marks said in a statement Monday. “Vaccination remains essential for public health and continued protection against the serious consequences of Covid-19, including hospitalizations and deaths. »
The United States wants to carry out an annual vaccination campaign against Covid-19, with each time a suitable vaccine, like that against the flu. But the success of the new formula is uncertain: the previous booster dose had only been taken by 17% of the American population.