EMA recommends Authorization of Moderna's updated Omicron-tailored vaccine

The European Medical Agency recommended authorization of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine-tailored booster shots for 12 and above ages to further vaccination campaigns in the region. The agency also authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's vaccines for children as young six months. The updated bivalent booster shots from Moderna will target the original version as well as the BA.4 and the currently dominant BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron.

The European Commission last month approved Moderna's vaccine targeting the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron. The recommendation of the agency is based on data from a study that shows Moderna's bivalent booster shots are more effective than the originally authorized vaccine against the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants.