US FDA authorizes updated Covid-19 shots for Omicron variant from Pfizer, Moderna: Report

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday authorized updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that target a recently circulating Omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to a report published by the news agency Reuters. 

A third shot, made by Novavax, is still under review by the US FDA. However, Novavax did not expect its shot to be authorized in the United States before a meeting of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Tuesday. 

Pfizer and Moderna said their updated vaccines, which target the XBB.1.5 subvariant of the virus, were expected to be available for most people in the United States in the coming days, Reuters reported. 

The US FDA approved those shots for people aged 12 and above and authorized them for emergency use in children ages 6 months through 11 years.

In an official statement, FDA scientist Dr. Peter Marks said, “The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency's rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. We very much encourage those who are eligible to consider getting vaccinated.”

The FDA authorization follows a late summer rise in cases at a time when the new EG.5 subvariant of Omicron - nicknamed Eris - has begun to spread in the United States and other countries rapidly, as per Reuters reports. 

Last week, Pfizer and Moderna said their updated Covid-19 vaccines generated strong responses in testing against BA.2.86. Novavax is still working to see how effective its vaccine is against the subvariant, the company's Chief Executive John Jacobs said as quoted by Reuters. 

"We're working with them. We don't control their particular timing, but we're moving rapidly," Jacobs added. 

The company is still planning on presenting at Tuesday's meeting of CDC advisers and does not believe that an additional meeting would require the CDC to sign off on its vaccine once it is approved.

Novavax's protein-based vaccine is based on an older technology than the messenger RNA vaccine, which has been used for decades to combat diseases.

(With Reuters inputs)