The EU’s drug regulator on Monday approved a fifth Covid jab as the US warned of a bleak winter with the Omicron variant spurring new waves of infections globally.
Since it was first reported in South Africa in November, Omicron has been identified in dozens of countries, dashing hopes that the worst of the pandemic is over.
Despite indications, it is not more severe than the Delta variant — still, the dominant strain — Omicron has been shown in early data to have higher transmissibility and a worrying resistance to vaccines.
On Monday, the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee approved Novavax, which uses a more conventional technology that the biotech firm hopes will reduce vaccine hesitancy.
“EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorization for Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid to prevent Covid-19 in people from 18 years of age,” it said after an extraordinary meeting at its Amsterdam headquarters.
It is the fifth vaccine approved in the bloc after shots from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, and the EU has already signed a deal to buy up to 200 million doses of the two-shot Novavax vaccine.
The firm says its vaccine showed 90.4 percent efficacy against Covid-19 in a North American trial.
Governments are scrambling to roll out booster shots to populations, with early data suggesting that a third dose offers increased protection against Omicron.
Moderna said Monday that a full dose of its vaccine given as a booster provides more antibody protection against the variant than currently authorized half-strength injections.
CEO Stephane Bancel called the results “reassuring”, adding that the company is continuing to develop an Omicron-specific jab.
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