New covid vaccines for summer variants slated for approval late next week

Federal authorities are preparing to approve updated coronavirus vaccines targeting the latest virus variants late next week, a move that could make shots available before Labor Day, according to a federal health official and a person familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential process.

The mRNA shots manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna designed to target the KP.2 variant can hit the market within days of approval by the Food and Drug Administration. A third protein-based vaccine made by Novavax, preferred by people who are cautious about mRNA vaccines or who have had bad reactions to them, will probably take longer to be approved and will be distributed in subsequent weeks, according to the federal health official.

The arrival of new vaccines comes three months after the start of a summer covid wave that is receding in some places.

The timing of the release is too late for Americans who were looking to shore up their immunity before summer travel and the return of the school year, or for those who face heightened risk because of their age or underlying conditions. In recent weeks, some people weighed whether to get an outdated vaccine for partial protection more quickly or to hang on for the updated version. And those who didn’t want to wait discovered existing shots were no longer easy to find.

“That’s simply unfortunate timing, given the high levels of covid-19 circulating now and the large number of vulnerable people due for vaccination who didn’t get it months ago and are now motivated and anxious,” said Kelly Moore, president and CEO of Immunize.org, an organization that educates clinicians about vaccines.

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Source: Washington Post, 16 August 2024