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The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of independent vaccine experts on Tuesday voted 19 to 2 to recommend new Covid-19 shots that target the omicron variant this fall, when public health officials are expecting a new wave of infections.
It is the first time the panel has proposed that vaccine makers modify the shots to target a different variant.
The vaccines target the spike protein the virus uses to invade human cells.
However, the shots have trouble recognizing and attacking the spike the more it mutates away from the original version of the virus.
The omicron variant is the most dramatic example yet with more than 30 mutations.
That is one of the central reasons why omicron caused such a massive wave of infections last winter despite the fact that masses of people were fully vaccinated.
Three doses from the current vaccines are just 19% effective at preventing infection from omicron among adults ages 18 and older 150 days or more after administration, according to data presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Novavax presented data showing a booster dose of its current vaccine, which targets the original virus strain, produced a strong immune response against the omicron subvariants.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/28/fda-pane...fall-.html
It is the first time the panel has proposed that vaccine makers modify the shots to target a different variant.
The vaccines target the spike protein the virus uses to invade human cells.
However, the shots have trouble recognizing and attacking the spike the more it mutates away from the original version of the virus.
The omicron variant is the most dramatic example yet with more than 30 mutations.
That is one of the central reasons why omicron caused such a massive wave of infections last winter despite the fact that masses of people were fully vaccinated.
Three doses from the current vaccines are just 19% effective at preventing infection from omicron among adults ages 18 and older 150 days or more after administration, according to data presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Novavax presented data showing a booster dose of its current vaccine, which targets the original virus strain, produced a strong immune response against the omicron subvariants.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/28/fda-pane...fall-.html
