Bivalent vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the Omicron BA.1 subvariant, had been approved by the European Medicines Agency on September 1.
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European health authorities recommended, on Tuesday September 6, that the elderly and people at risk of a severe form of Covid-19 be on the front line for the administration of vaccines adapted to the Omicron variant, approved last week by the Agency. European Medicines (EMA). “The ECDC [centre européen de prévention et de contrôle des maladies] and the EMA advise that these reminders should be given in priority to people most at risk of developing a serious form of the disease due to certain risk factors.EU agencies said.
This includes people aged 60 and over, immunocompromised people, people with other underlying conditions that put them at risk of developing a severe form of the disease, and pregnant women, they said. Pregnant women and caregivers should also be given priority, according to the EMA and ECDC.
Staff in nursing homes should also have priority and health workers “could also be considered due to their increased exposure in the event of future new waves”.
Ahead of a winter recall campaign, the EMA on September 1 approved bivalent vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which target both the original strain of Sars-CoV-2 and the Omicron BA.1 subvariant. .
The EU agencies also added that the original vaccines should be given to people who have had their first vaccinations, and in situations where suitable booster doses are not available, as they are “always effective against the severe form of the disease, hospitalization and death”.