US approves updated Pfizer, Moderna shots targeting Omicron / Photo: Joseph Prezioso - AFP/File
-
Pro-Trump nationalist to take over as Poland's new president
-
Nawrocki: nationalist historian becomes Poland's president
-
Lavish 'Grand Mariage' weddings celebrate Comoros tradition, society
-
Russian cover bands take centre stage as big names stay away
-
Squeezed by urban growth, Nigerian fishermen stick to tradition
-
One dead, nine injured in wildfire in southern France
-
Chikungunya in China: What you need to know
-
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific unveils deal to buy 14 Boeing jets
-
US envoy Witkoff arrives in Russia ahead of sanctions deadline
-
Indian army searches for scores missing after deadly Himalayan flood
-
Steeper US tariffs take effect on many Brazilian goods
-
Bangladesh mystic singers face Islamist backlash
-
'Not backing down': activists block hydro plants in N.Macedonia
-
Fire in southern France burns 11,000 hectares, injures nine
-
Rugby Australia relaxes 'redundant' limit on foreign-based players
-
Son draws fans to airport as LAFC calls Wednesday news conference
-
Investors walk fine line as Trump tariffs temper rate hopes
-
Son draws fans to airport even though MLS deal not official
-
Fritz, Shelton set up all-American Toronto semi-final
-
How Trump's love for TV is shaping US diplomacy
-
Sizzling Osaka to face Tauson in WTA Canadian Open semis
-
Fritz banishes brain freeze to advance into ATP Toronto semis
-
NFL buys 10% stake in ESPN, which buys NFL Network, RedZone
-
Trump targets tariff evasion, with eye on China
-
Trump seeks sway over Los Angeles Olympics with new task force
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs seeking Trump pardon: lawyer
-
Epstein accomplice Maxwell opposes unsealing grand jury transcripts
-
Russian oligarch's superyacht to be auctioned in US
-
Tauson ousts Keys and advances to WTA Canadian Open semis
-
US axes mRNA vaccine contracts, casting safety doubts
-
US envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow ahead of sanctions deadline
-
Wall Street stocks end lower as rally peters out
-
Hiroshima marks 80 years as US-Russia nuclear tensions rise
-
US envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow on Wednesday
-
Summer 2025 already a cavalcade of climate extremes
-
Eduardo Bolsonaro: 'provocateur' inflaming US-Brazil spat
-
Trump says pharma, chips tariffs incoming as trade war widens
-
NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars
-
OpenAI releases free, downloadable models in competition catch-up
-
100 missing after flash flood washes out Indian Himalayan town
-
Czech driverless train hits open track
-
Jobe Bellingham 'anxious' about following Jude at Dortmund
-
US trade gap shrinks on imports retreat as tariffs fuel worries
-
Meta says working to thwart WhatsApp scammers
-
Ion Iliescu: democratic Romania's first president
-
Plastic pollution treaty talks open with 'global crisis' warning
-
US data deflates stocks rebound
-
S.Africa urges more countries to stand up to Israel's 'genocidal activities'
-
Probe blames operator for 'preventable' Titanic sub disaster
-
Belgium's Evenepoel to join Red Bull-Bora in 2026
NYSE - LSE
| SCU | 0% | 12.72 | $ | |
| JRI | 0.45% | 13.26 | $ | |
| CMSD | -0.51% | 23.51 | $ | |
| BCE | 1.06% | 23.56 | $ | |
| SCS | -3.88% | 15.96 | $ | |
| BCC | 4.68% | 86.77 | $ | |
| RIO | -0.5% | 59.7 | $ | |
| CMSC | 0% | 23.07 | $ | |
| NGG | -0.51% | 72.28 | $ | |
| GSK | -0.96% | 37.32 | $ | |
| RBGPF | -0.03% | 74.92 | $ | |
| RYCEF | -1.19% | 14.33 | $ | |
| AZN | -0.15% | 74.48 | $ | |
| BTI | 0.52% | 55.84 | $ | |
| RELX | -2.73% | 50.59 | $ | |
| VOD | 0.54% | 11.1 | $ | |
| BP | 3.3% | 33.6 | $ |
US approves updated Pfizer, Moderna shots targeting Omicron
US health officials on Wednesday authorized updated Covid-19 vaccinations by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech that specifically target the latest strains of the Omicron variant, with the goal of jump-starting a new booster campaign.
The two updated booster shots aimed at providing "better protection against Covid-19 caused by the Omicron variant" are approved for people age 12 and above for the Pfizer shot and 18 and older for Moderna, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement.
This new generation of anti-Covid vaccines targets both the original strain of coronavirus and the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages, the subvariants of Omicron that are causing the most cases in the United States and which the FDA predicts will circulate in the coming months.
Earlier this summer the US health department announced it had purchased 105 million doses from Pfizer and 66 million from Moderna for use over the fall and winter.
The vaccines have yet to be recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation's health protection agency. But an independent panel of experts is scheduled to be convened by the CDC on Thursday to discuss the updates.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky will be in charge of giving the final green light.
The new versions of the vaccines could potentially be available in the United States as early as next week.
"Receiving a booster that specifically targets the Omicron BA.4/.5 variant, currently the most prevalent strain of SARS-CoV-2, is an important public health measure that people can take to help protect themselves, especially as we head into a season filled with indoor gatherings," Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said in a statement.
The vaccines currently in circulation target the initial strain of the virus that first appeared in Wuhan, China. But they have gradually proven to be less effective against the variants that have appeared over time, due to rapid evolution of the virus.
In contrast to the Alpha and Delta variants, which eventually waned, Omicron and its subvariants have come to dominate infections worldwide in 2022.
Pfizer and Moderna have also filed for approval of their updated vaccines with the European Medicines Agency.
K.Hassan--SF-PST
