Omicron vaccines: EMA expects approval by September

Created: 05/05/2022, 17:11

By: Sarah Neumeyer

A booster vaccination with a special omicron vaccine could soon be possible.

The EMA expects approval by September.

(Iconic image) © Daniel Vogl/dpa

The omicron variant is spreading rapidly.

The EMA is now giving hope that new corona vaccines could be approved this year.

Amsterdam – The omicron variant of the corona virus has caused renewed waves of infection in many countries.

But now there is growing hope that corona vaccines against the highly contagious omicron variant could soon be approved.

According to estimates by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), vaccines against Omicron should be approved by the end of September at the latest.

The greatest chances are for appropriately adapted mRNA vaccines from the companies Moderna and Biontech, said the EMA director for vaccination strategy, Marco Cavaleri, on Thursday (May 5) at a press conference by the authority in Amsterdam.

The necessary clinical studies are in progress.

Vaccines against omicron variant: EMA gives hope

The EMA also examines corona vaccines from other manufacturers.

However, it is "no secret" that the adaptations of mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Biontech to Omikron are already quite advanced.

He did not give details of the study data collected so far. 

The EMA boss appealed to unvaccinated people to protect themselves against corona by vaccination before autumn/winter 2022.

"The top priority must be closing the vaccination gap," said Cavaleri.

Only 50 percent of Europeans have been fully vaccinated and boosted to date, while 15 percent of Europeans over the age of 18 have not yet received a single vaccination against Covid-19.

(Sarah Neumeyer with dpa)