EU regulators backs Pfizer’s updated vaccine for dominant Omicron subvariant

EU regulators have recommended authorizing an updated Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech which targets the dominant XBB.1.5 variant of Omicron, putting it on track to become the third adapted shot  by the two companies to be approved in the bloc.

The vaccine, dubbed Comirnaty, is to be used for preventing Covid-19 in adults and children with a dosage dependent on previous vaccinations.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Wednesday its human medicines committee (CHMP) had recommended the updated vaccine for children six months through four years of age as part or all of the primary three-dose vaccination series, depending on how many prior doses they had received.

It could be a single dose for those with a history of completion of a Covid-19 primary vaccination course or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, the committee added.