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Canada on Thursday authorized Moderna Inc to give adults a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, adding the first vaccine for Omicron to its arsenal, as cooler temperatures will force people indoors where there is a higher risk of infection.
The COVID vaccine was originally developed against the coronavirus strain first identified in China in 2019. Several new variants have since been discovered, of which Omicron is believed to be the most infectious.
Moderna’s so-called bivalent vaccine targets the original 2019 virus and the BA.1 version of Omicron, which led to a sudden exponential rise in infection rates in Canada last winter.
Also read: India records 7,946 new Covid-19 cases as active cases drop to 62,748
“There’s a real potential for another serious wave of Covid-19 as winter rolls in and people are pushed back indoors,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“If we can get 80-90% of Canadians vaccinated in time, we’ll have a better winter without the kinds of restrictions and rules that have been so problematic for everyone over the past few years,” he said. .
Health authorities in Europe and North America have also recommended bivalent vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech.
In a statement, Health Canada’s regulator said Moderna’s bivalent Spikevax booster was safe and effective, while also producing “a favorable immune response” to the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants.
Canada has received 12 million new booster doses of the vaccine, which Moderna will make available starting Friday.
The U.S.-licensed Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna boosters were revamped Wednesday to target Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants for everyone 12 and older. On Thursday, the EU medicines regulator also backed two bivalent vaccine boosters targeting the same age group.
The bivalent vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech is under review, and Health Canada expects vaccine makers to also submit booster applications for BA. 5 sub-variants.
Also read: China locks down city of 21 million residents after reporting 157 Covid cases
According to official data, by mid-August, more than 90 per cent of Canadians over the age of 12 had received the main series of COVID vaccines, while about 57 per cent of those in the same age group had received a booster dose.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said timely updates on booster shots would also help significantly reduce COVID-related hospitalizations during the winter months.
“Vaccine protection is like a cell phone battery: it needs to be recharged from time to time,” he said.
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