((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Added CDC statement in paragraphs 1-3) by Mariam Sunny and Christy Santhosh
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people six months of age and older receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the 2024-25 vaccination campaign, whether or not they have been previously vaccinated against the disease.
The agency’s recommendation echoed that of its outside expert panel, which voted unanimously to recommend use of updated COVID-19 vaccines, as authorized or approved by the FDA, in people six months of age and older.
The recommendation will take effect once new vaccines from Moderna MRNA.O , Novavax NVAX.O and Pfizer PFE.N become available later this year, the CDC said.
Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration asked vaccine makers to update new vaccines to target the KP.2 variant, if possible, instead of the JN.1 lineage it had sought to target earlier .
Moderna and Novavax have submitted their applications to the FDA for the update of the fall 2024 season vaccines targeting the JN.1 strain.
Novavax said it intends to make its updated vaccine available at the start of the vaccination season after receiving FDA authorization, adding that its vaccine showed broad cross-neutralizing antibodies against multiple variants , including KP.2 and KP.3.
Pfizer PFE.N and Moderna produce messenger RNA vaccines, which can be developed more quickly than Novavax’s protein-based vaccine.
The JN.1 variant was the dominant strain in the United States earlier this year. Although no longer as prevalent, it was estimated to account for 4.4% of cases during the two-week period ending June 22, according to CDC data .
The KP.2 strain was estimated to account for around 20.8% of cases, while the KP.3 strain, which is now becoming dominant, accounted for 33.1% of cases.
Pfizer said it is holding global discussions with regulators, including the FDA, to evaluate the composition of future COVID vaccine formulations.
Moderna said it would be ready to supply the updated vaccine in time for the fall vaccination campaign, while Pfizer and its partner BioNTech 22UAy.DE said they would be ready to supply their updated vaccines as soon as they were obtained. of authorization.
Pfizer and Moderna have said they are ready to supply vaccines targeting the JN.1 or KP.2 variants.
