Moderna on Thursday said early-stage trials show its new booster provided a robust immune response against the now-dominant EG.5, or Eris variant.
Despite the difference in names, XBB.1.5 and EG.5 both descended from the XBB omicron subvariant. Immunization stakeholders had anticipated the possibility that the dominant strain in the U.S. would change by the time vaccines were administered later this year and aimed to get as close to a match as possible.
Matching a vaccine with the most prevalent circulating strain is a constant challenge for vaccine makers. Still, manufacturers targeted XBB.1.5 with their most recent doses, and experts say the new booster will be a better match to EG.5 than the very first COVID-19 vaccines were to the variant that was dominant by the time they were released.
Eris is estimated to account for about 20 percent of all new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But like most COVID-19 data in recent months, reporting is inconsistent. Just three out of 10 regions of the U.S. are reporting genomic COVID-19 data to the CDC, leaving it unclear just how widespread EG.5 is.
In the Northeast, the FL.1.5.1 omicron subvariant, also descended from XBB, is the top strain.
The World Health Organization designated Eris a “variant of interest” earlier this month, meaning it will be monitored for mutations that could make it more severe.
New shots from Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax are likely to begin rolling out by the end of September, pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Even though there’s an uptick in cases now, public health experts advise waiting until the new shots are available.
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August 19, 2023 at 05:51AM
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‘Eris’ COVID strain leaves vaccine strategy mostly unchanged - The Hill
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