FDA Advisors Lean Into Modifying COVID-19 Vaccines to Be Omicron-Specific

June 29, 2022 by Alexa Hornbeck
FDA Advisors Lean Into Modifying COVID-19 Vaccines to Be Omicron-Specific
This Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, file photo shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration building behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md. (Associated Press)

Key advisors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration met on Tuesday to examine COVID-19 vaccines and whether there is need for modification as protection wanes.

During the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting, a majority of the panel, 19-2, ruled in favor of manufacturing an omicron-containing booster, specifically targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

There were also considerations for creating a bivalent vaccine that would contain omicron and the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. 

The use of Novavax, a protein-based, non-mRNA vaccine that has not yet received an emergency use authorization from the FDA, was also discussed as a potential future booster. 

Some of the advisors examined whether the vaccine might work better at fighting against omicron infection as it includes an adjuvant that may not require revisions with emerging COVID-19 variants. 

How quickly manufacturers could revise the vaccine formula to target omicron was also discussed. Pfizer indicated it could have such a vaccine product available by the first week of October, and Moderna by late October or early November. 

Alexa can be reached at [email protected]

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

Health

March 18, 2024
by Dan McCue
EPA Finalizes Ban on Ongoing Use of Asbestos

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a rule to prohibit the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos, the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a rule to prohibit the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported into the United States. The ban is the first to be finalized under the Toxic Substances... Read More

Biden to Sign Executive Order Aimed at Advancing Study of Women's Health

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Monday aimed at advancing the study of... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Monday aimed at advancing the study of women's health in part by strengthening data collection and providing easier and better funding opportunities for biomedical research. Women make up half the population, but their... Read More

March 15, 2024
by Dan McCue
EPA Sets Tougher Limits on Gas Used to Sterilize Medical Devices

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized tougher restrictions on ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas commonly used to... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized tougher restrictions on ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas commonly used to sterilize medical devices. The new standards specifically target commercial sterilization facilities. The agency called them “the strongest measures in U.S. history to reduce emissions of EtO,”... Read More

March 15, 2024
by Dan McCue
EPA Proposes New Limits on Gas Distribution Facilities

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized a rule strengthening toxic air pollution standards at gasoline distribution facilities,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized a rule strengthening toxic air pollution standards at gasoline distribution facilities, including storage tanks, loading operations and equipment leaks.  The action — from which gas stations are exempt — is expected to reduce emissions of air toxics,... Read More

College Swimmers, Volleyball Players Sue NCAA Over Transgender Policies

ATLANTA (AP) — Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in... Read More

Part D Redesign Could Threaten Organ Transplant Recipients’ Second Lease on Life

For more than 40 years, Glenda Daggert has lived with Type 1 diabetes and resulting kidney failure. She finally received... Read More

For more than 40 years, Glenda Daggert has lived with Type 1 diabetes and resulting kidney failure. She finally received her second chance — a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant — in 1999. She is one of the lucky ones. As we celebrate World Kidney Day... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top