FDA issues guidance on tackling virus variants

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued guidance for companies seeking to address the emergence and potential future development of variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Relating to vaccines, the FDA has said that at present its authorized products remain effective in protecting the American public against currently circulating strains of SARS-CoV-2, according to available information.

"We are using every tool in our toolbox to fight this pandemic, including pivoting as the virus adapts"However, if there is an emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that are moderately or fully resistant to the antibody response elicited by the current generation of COVID-19 vaccines, it may be necessary to tailor the vaccines, the agency notes.