Vaccine was developed to target the initial strain of Omicron, which is no longer dominant
Sep 01, 2022
Health Canada has formally approved Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant.
It has been approved for use in adults 18 and older.
In a decision summary made public Thursday, Health Canada said the new vaccine shows “significantly higher responses” to the Omicron BA.1 virus in comparison to Moderna’s original coronavirus vaccine, officially branded as Spikevax.
While the updated vaccine was developed to target the Omicron BA.1 variant, Health Canada says clinical trials suggest the new vaccine still elicits a “stronger immune response” against the more recent mutations of Omicron — BA.4 and BA.5 — which are now dominant.
“Results of exploratory analyses suggest that a second booster with Spikevax Bivalent would provide a superior neutralizing antibody response against BA.4/5 compared to a second booster with Spikevax Original,” reads a portion of the decision.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/health-canada-moderna-bivalent-approval-1.6569398