It is a preparation adapted to the Omicron subline XBB.1.5. It is intended to provide better protection against variants of the coronavirus that are currently circulating. Adults and children over the age of five would need a single vaccination, “regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination history,” the EMA said. After the approval by the EMA experts, the European Commission now has to formally approve the approval. That should happen very soon.
The companies BioNTech and Pfizer want to ship the vaccine doses to the relevant EU member states “immediately” after approval. Your vaccine Comirnaty was the first vaccine available in this country during the corona pandemic at the end of 2020. Last year it came onto the market in a further developed form due to other Omicron sub-lines. The update is intended to further improve protection against serious illnesses and hospitalizations.
“Serious side effects are rare”
Vaccine reactions are typically mild and short-lived, the EMA said. These could include headaches, diarrhea, joint and muscle pain, fatigue, chills, fever, pain and swelling at the injection site. “More serious side effects may occur rarely.” As with other COVID-19 vaccines, it is the decision of national authorities how the vaccine is used, the EMA said.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) in Germany now only recommends booster vaccinations to certain groups, preferably in the fall. These include people aged 60 and over, people with certain previous illnesses from the age of six months, nursing and health workers and relatives of high-risk patients. As a rule, at least twelve months should have passed since the last vaccination or infection.
England is already fighting against BA.2.86
In England, health authorities are now prioritizing public vaccinations. The reason is the heavily mutated COVID variant BA.2.86. According to the UK Department of Health, annual programs for older and vulnerable groups are scheduled to begin on September 11, several weeks earlier than planned. There have been no coronavirus restrictions in England since February 2022.
At the beginning of last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the global health emergency due to the coronavirus was over. “Even though it is no longer a global health emergency, it has not gone away,” said WHO Europe director Hans Kluge.
rb/wa (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Source: DW
