Adapted bivalent vaccines fine for primary vaccination, EMA says

Following a review, the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Emergency Task Force (ETF) has concluded that adapted mRNA bivalent vaccines targeting the original strain and Omicron BA.4-5 subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 may be used for initial vaccination.

This conclusion is based on the EFT’s review of laboratory studies and data on the immune response following natural infection with Omicron BA.4-5 in unvaccinated people who had not been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.

The data suggest that primary vaccination with these adapted bivalent vaccines should give rise to a broad immune response in people who have not yet been exposed to, or vaccinated against, SARS-CoV-2.