Too Early To Know If New Covid Variant Needs New Vaccine: EU Medical Body
The EU has reacted with concern to news of the new strain, proposing that member states stop all flights to and from southern African where it was first discovered.
The EU's drug regulator said on Friday that it was closely monitoring the new B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant, but it was too soon to tell if updated vaccines would be needed.
The European Medicines Agency said it needed more details to see if the strain, which has "numerous mutations", could evade the current four jabs authorised for the bloc.
"We are closely monitoring the newly emerged B.1.1.529 variant which presents numerous mutations in the Covid-19 spike protein," the Amsterdam-based EMA said in a statement to AFP.
"Current information is insufficient to determine if this variant is going to spread significantly and to what extent it may evade the immunity received with vaccines."
It added: "EMA considers it premature at the moment to foresee the need of an adapted vaccine with a different composition in order to tackle this emerging variant."
The EU has reacted with concern to news of the new strain, proposing that member states stop all flights to and from southern African where it was first discovered.
Belgium said Friday it had discovered Europe's first case.
The EMA has so far approved four vaccines for use for adults in the EU: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which use messenger RNA technology, and AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which use viral vector technology.
BioNTech said Friday it expected data on how well its vaccine protects against the new variant "in two weeks at the latest".
The European Medicines Agency said it needed more details to see if the strain, which has "numerous mutations", could evade the current four jabs authorised for the bloc.
"We are closely monitoring the newly emerged B.1.1.529 variant which presents numerous mutations in the Covid-19 spike protein," the Amsterdam-based EMA said in a statement to AFP.
"Current information is insufficient to determine if this variant is going to spread significantly and to what extent it may evade the immunity received with vaccines."
It added: "EMA considers it premature at the moment to foresee the need of an adapted vaccine with a different composition in order to tackle this emerging variant."
The EU has reacted with concern to news of the new strain, proposing that member states stop all flights to and from southern African where it was first discovered.
Belgium said Friday it had discovered Europe's first case.
The EMA has so far approved four vaccines for use for adults in the EU: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which use messenger RNA technology, and AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which use viral vector technology.
BioNTech said Friday it expected data on how well its vaccine protects against the new variant "in two weeks at the latest".
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
