MASSACHUSETTS, Aug 18 — Moderna said yesterday initial study data showed its updated Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the Eris and Fornax subvariants in humans.
The company expects the updated shot to be available — pending approval from health regulators in the United States, Europe and elsewhere — in the coming weeks for the fall vaccination season.
Moderna and other Covid-19 vaccine makers Novavax, Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE have made versions of their shots aimed at the XBB.1.5 subvariant.
Earlier yesterday, Pfizer reported its updated Covid-19 shot, co-developed with BioNTech, showed neutralising activity against the Eris subvariant in a study conducted on mice.
Eris, the nickname for EG.5, is similar to the XBB.1.5 subvariant and a sub-lineage of the still-dominant Omicron variant.
EG.5 accounted for about more than 17 per cent of Covid-19 cases in the US, according to the latest government data. Infections from Fornax, officially known as FL 1.5.1, are also rising across the country.
Covid-19 related hospitalisations in the US are up more than 40 per cent on low numbers from June, but are still more than 90 per cent below peak levels hit during the Omicron outbreak in January 2022.
The World Health Organisation classified EG.5 as a “variant of interest”, indicating it should be more closely watched than others because of mutations that might make it more contagious or severe.
— Reuters
