Washington, September 9 (ZXS) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the updated Pfizer and Moderna new crown vaccines on the 11th local time.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the provision of updated versions of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to groups aged 6 months and older. The updated vaccine targets the XBB.1.5 subtype of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus.
Peter Marks, head of vaccines at the US Food and Drug Administration, issued a statement on the same day saying that the new crown vaccine "remains very important for public health and the prevention of severe cases and deaths", and the US Food and Drug Administration encouraged all eligible people to receive the updated new crown vaccine.
The FDA also said that although the Omicron variant XBB.1.5 subtype targeted by the updated vaccine is no longer the main circulating strain of the new coronavirus in the United States, because the XBB.1.5 subtype is very similar to the current epidemic strain, the vaccine can still protect against the current circulating strain.
The expert committee of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet on the 12th to discuss and decide which groups are recommended for the updated new crown vaccine. After that, after the director of the CDC signs it, the updated version of the vaccine will be officially put on the market.
According to statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently, the number of hospitalizations due to infection with the new crown virus has been on the rise for many weeks. In the week of August 8 to September 27, 9,2 people were hospitalized due to the coronavirus. (End)