People at high risk of severe disease who have yet to get a second COVID-19 booster should not wait for next-generation, Omicron-targeted vaccines expected in the fall, five vaccine experts told Reuters.
In many countries, including the United States, the BA.5 Omicron subvariant of the virus is surging, but current vaccines continue to offer protection against hospitalization for severe disease and death.
In the United States, regulators have asked Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech and Moderna Inc to develop vaccine boosters that target both the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron cousins, as well as the original virus. US regulators are hoping an updated vaccine that targets the original strain and an Omicron variant will offer broader protection against future variants, and believe a booster that is closest to the circulating version is valuable.
Moore said the evidence he has seen, including at a June US Food and Drug Administration meeting and since, suggests that the benefit of a BA.4/5 booster compared to the original vaccine is "negligible" in terms of preventing infection.
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