The European Commission has announced its approval of an enhanced iteration of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by BioNTech Pfizer.
This updated vaccine, known as Comirnaty XBB.1.5-adapted, has undergone its third modification to address emerging COVID-19 variants and has been granted authorization for use in individuals, including adults, children, and infants above 6 months. This development was disclosed in a press release issued by the commission on Friday.
“I welcome this very timely authorization of the updated COVID vaccine, which will target emerging and spreading variants,’’ said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in its latest update that COVID-19 cases in the EU were rising but infection rates remained at a low level.
“COVID-19 will circulate in parallel to seasonal influenza during the upcoming autumn and winter season, and we need to be ready,’’ Kyriakides said.
Authorisation was fast-tracked to allow EU countries to better prepare their upcoming vaccination campaigns, the commission said.
Germany-based BioNTech gained international renown for developing a vaccine against COVID-19 based on its novel mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) technology.
During 2021, BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer supplied more than 2.6 billion doses of its Coronavirus vaccine.
That figure fell to around two billion last year.
