Europeans Gain Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters — Vax Before Travel

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, Europe’s strategy is to have a broad range of adapted vaccines that target different SARS-CoV-2 variants ‘so Member States have a plurality of options to meet their needs.’

In support of that strategy, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently announced its committee recommended authorizing enhanced vaccines adapted to provide broader protection against COVID-19.

These adapted vaccines can broaden protection against different variants and are expected to help maintain optimal protection against COVID-19 as the virus evolves.

Maryland-based Novavax, Inc. announced on September 1, 2022, that the Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 vaccine had been recommended for expanded conditional marketing authorization (CMA) in the European Union (EU) as a homologous and heterologous booster for adults.

“This recommendation is a critical step towards being able to offer the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine registered for use as both a primary series and booster regardless of previous vaccine history in the EU,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax, in a press release.

“As COVID-19 continues to evolve, we are committed to increasing global access to diversified vaccine options.”

Additionally, the EMA’s human medicines committee recommended authorizing the Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.1 and Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron BA.1 for use in people aged 12 years and above who have received at least primary vaccination against COVID-19.

These vaccines are adapted versions of the original vaccines Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech) and Spikevax (Moderna) to target the Omicron BA.1 subvariant in addition to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2.

National authorities in the EU Member States determine who should receive which vaccines, considering factors such as timing, infection and hospitalization rates, the risk to vulnerable populations, vaccination coverage, and vaccine availability.

More than 892 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been given to people in the EU and European Economic Area as of the end of June 2022.

The latest information on the safety of each vaccine is in the EMA’s monthly safety update, available at this weblink.

And in the USA, these COVID-19 vaccines, and travel-related vaccines, are generally available at certified pharmacies.

Vax-Before-Travel publishes fact-checked, research-based travel vaccine news curated for mobile readership.

Note: This article was manually translated.