Experts in the United States have requested specific reinforcements for the omicron variant for that fall
Specialists in the United States have requested that anticovid booster vaccines be specifically focused on combating omicron.
A panel of US medical experts has called for specific boosters for the omicron variant this fall, as it is increasingly anticipated that the Covid vaccine will be needed on a seasonal basis, as is the case with influenza .
The committee, convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), voted 19-2 in favor of the measure after evaluating available data, including projections about future waves of contagion and early results from vaccine manufacturers.
"What we’re doing today is working in a very challenging area, because none of us have a crystal ball," explained one of the FDA ‘s top scientists, Peter Marks.
Michael Nelson, a panelist on the committee and a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia, said he voted "yes" out of concern that the vaccine ‘s effectiveness could be diminished, leading to severe consequences for high-risk patients. "We need to move sooner rather than later," he said.
In their debate, most experts favored the new "bivalent" injections that target the original Wuhan variant and BA.4 and BA.5, the newer forms of omicron.
While previous "variants of concern" like alpha and delta eventually fizzled out, omicron and its later lineages have been dominant through 2022, to the point of accounting for the vast majority of global COVID cases, FDA official Jerry Weir said.
This makes it more likely that the future evolution of the virus will occur during the presence of omicron in the covid family tree.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization also recommended the priority use of omicron boosters over the original variants, with the aim of achieving a greater immune response.