According to staff reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the development and manufacture of a COVID-19 vaccine for the upcoming 2023-2024 campaign should focus on targeting one of the currently circulating XBB variants.
The comments were shared in a document released ahead of an FDA panel meeting scheduled for Thursday where independent experts will advise on pressures addressed by an updated COVID-19 booster, according to reports. Reuters.
As previously reported, FDA advisers are meeting to discuss the next phase of a COVID-19 vaccine and determine which strains should be targeted in the post-pandemic era.
Public health experts say the fall COVID-19 vaccine overhaul plan is designed to kickstart annual COVID vaccinations that align with the flu shot cycle.
In May, a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group recommended updating that year’s COVID-19 booster shot to target the XBB subvariant.
During the last vaccination season in the United States, the COVID vaccine booster was given as a bivalent injection, including the original vaccine strain and Omicron.
data from CDC Current data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of early May shows that about 17% of people in the US received a COVID booster shot during the 2022-2023 vaccination season.
COVID-related deaths in the country spiked in January but have mostly declined since then, down 14.3% over the past week.
Regulators have highlighted the need to update vaccines to adapt to the unpredictability of the virus.
“The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 shows no signs of slowing, although immunity appears to be reducing severe clinical outcomes,” FDA staff told Reuters.
According to FDA reviewers, the COVID vaccination campaign should introduce monovalent vaccines against XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, or XBB.2.3 because these XBB subvariants account for 95 percent of the virus variants circulating in the U.S. by early June 2023 % above.
COVID-19 vaccine makers including Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna Inc and Novavax Inc are already working on developing versions of their vaccines against XBB.1.5 and other currently circulating strains.
Last month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of an unexpected new potential global threat, while acknowledging that new surges of COVID-19 could still occur as new variants spread.
On the sidelines of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, Ghebreyesus warned: “The threat of another variant causing a new surge in disease and death remains. The threat of another pathogen with more lethal potential remains.”
He urged member states to remain vigilant, step up monitoring efforts and strengthen emergency response plans.
Published by Medicaldaily.com