Pfizer seeks OK of updated COVID vaccine booster for fall
Source: AP
Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its combination COVID-19 vaccine that adds protection against the newest omicron relatives — a key step toward opening a fall booster campaign. The Food and Drug Administration ordered vaccine makers to tweak their shots to target BA.4 and BA.5 that are better than ever at dodging immunity from earlier vaccination or infection.
If the FDA quickly clears the combo shots made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, boosters could be offered within weeks. The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million of the updated Pfizer doses as soon as health authorities greenlight them, and the company said doses are ready to ship. Moderna is expected to file a similar application soon, and the U.S. has a contract to buy 66 million doses of its updated vaccine.
“It’s going to be really important that people this fall and winter get the new shots. It’s designed for the virus that’s out there,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said last week.
For now at least. BA.5 currently is causing nearly all COVID-19 infections in the U.S., and much of the world. There’s no way to know if it still will be a threat this winter -- or if another mutant will have replaced it.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-1cff3358922388f2461d74f8dc46f3e6
The initial data was discussed back on June 28 by both Pfizer and Moderna when the subject for Omicron-specific boosters came up. FDA gave approval to go ahead with bivalents.
Pfizer (which is subject of the OP for their EUA submission) looked at their current 2-dose vax series + same booster vs the current 2-dose series + a monovalent booster vs the current 2-dose series + a bivalent booster.
PFIZER
The article also mentions the UK's approval of one of Moderna's earlier bivalents (that included the original and I believe a BA.1-targeted as a combo), the U.S. wanted their bivalent with the BA.5 focus. I.e., I believe the UK approved the mRNA-1273.211 version where the U.S. is looking to review/approve the mRNA-127.214 one.
MODERNA
= new reply since forum marked as read
Ty!
Dumb ass! 
Trying to get that "extra" bounce!!!
It's like buckling up for safety!
