BA.1, BA.5 and Co.: What can the new corona vaccines do in the fight against omicron?
Created: 07/20/2022, 18:59
By: Anna Lorenz
The omicron variant with subtypes BA.1 and BA.5 is currently the predominant form of the coronavirus.
New vaccines should protect - but how effective and useful are the vaccines?
Munich – summer 2022, and the corona pandemic is still raging.
While, as the video above shows, the number of infections is currently increasing rapidly, it is becoming apparent that the mutations of the Covid virus are moving away from the wild type against which the original corona vaccines were developed.
New vaccines are in demand, the main players Moderna and Biontech/Pfizer are already busy adapting the known mRNA active ingredients.
Corona vaccines: These vaccines from Moderna and Biontech are intended to protect against Omicron
While Biontech/Pfizer are developing two potential helpers for the Corona autumn that is to be feared, Moderna sees its new vaccine "mRNA-1273.214" as "the main candidate for a booster in autumn 2022".
The special feature: Both manufacturers now rely on bivalent boosters, i.e. those that target two antigens.
The reason is the further development of the virus caused by mutations.
"The virus is moving away more and more from the wild type, so the adapted vaccine is closer than the original vaccine developed against the wild type," says vaccine specialist Leif Erik Sander from the Berlin Charite, as
Der Spiegel
reports.
The results so far seem to speak a clear language.
Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna Moderna, announced that the new vaccine is expected to provide "more durable protection against variants of concern" compared to the results "we have seen with our first bivalent booster candidate, mRNA-1273.211".
Biontech also announced that its "adapted vaccine candidates," one of which is bivalent but the other is single-antigen, "evidence significantly higher neutralizing antibody responses to Omicron BA.1 compared to the company's current COVID-19 vaccine ' evoke.
As Prof. Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of Biontech pointed out, the subtypes of omicrine have “potential for immune escape” so one must “remain vigilant and be ready to rapidly adapt vaccine candidates to new sublineages as epidemiological and laboratory data suggest this.” suggest."
Corona: Adapted vaccines - when, where and for whom?
While Moderna hopes to be able to launch the new vaccine in late summer, Biontech is leaving its desired date undecided.
At the end of July, the pending results were shared with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA);
the latter already allowed the sixth corona vaccine in the EU in June 2022.
According to Spiegel
, the manufacturers can probably expect the adapted preparations to be approved
in September 2022.
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An assessment by the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), which is to be expected after approval in Germany, has not yet emerged.
"Anyone who has been vaccinated two or three times with the conventional vaccine could get the pure omicron booster as the fourth vaccination or a booster that covers old and new variants, and then has a broad immune response," says Sander about the, especially in View of BA.1 developed vaccine.
"However, the effect is somewhat greater with the Omikron vaccine." A renewed widespread vaccination with the vaccines adapted to Omikron will probably not be suggested according to the current status.
(askl)
