03.07.2023 – 15:06
Modern Germany GmbH
Munich (ots)
Moderna has submitted the monovalent vaccine adapted to variant XBB.1.5 of the coronavirus to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) The adapted vaccine is planned to be made available for the vaccination season in autumn/winter 2023, subject to approval Future life with a permanently circulating coronavirus in Germany expected High need for prevention People over 60 years of age and people with certain age-independent previous illnesses, immunocompromised people and contact persons[1]
Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering the development of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, has announced the submission of its monovalent vaccine adapted to variant XBB.1.5 of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to the European Medicines Agency (EMA ) announced. With the adaptation to the dominant XBB variant[2] Moderna supports the recommendations of the regulatory authorities EMA and FDA (Federal Drug and Food Administration) as well as those of the World Health Organization (WHO).[3,4,5] “Experts expect that COVID-19 will be endemic, i.e. appear regularly in waves”,[6] explains Dr. Gerald Wiegand, Managing Director of Moderna Germany. “That’s why it’s important, especially for risk groups[1] the risk of a severe course of the disease is reduced. Moderna’s vaccine, which has been adapted to the XBB.1.5 variant, is intended to protect them accordingly, subject to approval.” Wiegand continues: “You can probably compare SARS-CoV-2 with the influenza viruses. Here, the vaccine composition is adjusted annually by the WHO to the currently circulating influenza viruses. As SARS-CoV-2 mutates, this could mean that the composition of all vaccines against COVID-19 also changes from year to year. So vaccinating once a year, preferably in the fall, is becoming our new normal and is approved by the Standing Committee on Vaccination[1] recommended for certain groups of people.”
Read here for whom, according to the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO), a COVID-19 vaccination should become an annual routine and how self-care and protection of older and other vulnerable people can be integrated into life with the virus.
“Living with the virus” – what does that mean?
Surely everyone has heard the phrase “We now have to learn to live with the virus”. It also resonates: A COVID-19 disease has become a “normal life risk”. In addition, the WHO has declared the international health emergency due to SARS-CoV-2 to be over[7] and one is tempted to deduce that COVID-19 is over. But is it really like that? “WHO speaks literally of an established and enduring health problem[7], which COVID-19 now represents,” explains Dr. Alfred von Krempelhuber, Medical Director of Moderna Germany. “So COVID-19 is not over. Accordingly, older people in particular and people at risk of developing a severe course of the disease should regularly check their vaccination status together with their doctor and consider an annual booster vaccination.” Von Krempelhuber added that it was still important for everyone to be vigilant against COVID-19 19: “Since a SARS-CoV-2 infection can also have long-term consequences such as long-term COVID-19, it is advisable for all age groups to avoid infection or reinfection and to reduce the likelihood of the virus being passed on to reduce. Proven hygiene measures are a good idea to be continued, especially in contact with older, immunocompromised and other vulnerable people. The more difficult we make it for the virus to find new hosts, the better it can be contained.”
Who exactly should be vaccinated with the variant-adapted vaccine?
The latest STIKO recommendations[1] include an annual COVID-19 booster vaccination “preferably with a variant-adapted mRNA vaccine” for over 60-year-olds, people with previous illnesses, residents of care facilities and medical staff with direct patient or resident contact and family members as well as Persons in close contact with immunocompromised people.[1] The COVID-19 vaccination was included in the general STIKO vaccination recommendations 2023.[1]
When will Moderna’s variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine be available?
Regarding the availability of the variant-adapted vaccine, Wiegand says: “We plan that the adapted mRNA vaccine from Moderna will be available in time for the local vaccination season in the fall, subject to its approval.” Ergo: People who want to be vaccinated will probably have the opportunity in autumn to boost their immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 with an mRNA vaccine from Moderna that has been adapted to XBB.1.5.
About Moderna
Since its inception in 2010, Moderna Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. (USA), from a research-oriented company active in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) into an mRNA pioneer and world-renowned biotechnology company. The clinical portfolio in the area of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics spans six different research areas. The company also holds patents in areas such as mRNA formulation and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Production facilities developed in-house enable vaccines and therapeutics to be produced flexibly and quickly.
Moderna works with a variety of partners around the world to enable rapid scaling of production alongside groundbreaking science. Moderna’s know-how and the tireless commitment of all employees have led to the approval of one of the first effective mRNA vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderna’s mRNA platform is based on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA research, dosage forms and manufacturing. It enables the development of vaccines and therapeutics, for example for the prevention of infectious diseases, in immuno-oncology or the treatment of rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases.
In 2022, Moderna was recognized by Science as one of the Best Places to Work in the Global Biopharmaceutical Industry for the eighth consecutive year. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.
Since October 2021, the US company has been represented as Moderna Germany GmbH with a branch in Munich, Germany. To learn more, visit
Sources:
1. Robert Koch Institute. Epidemiological Bulletin 4/2023. Implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination in the general recommendations of the STIKO 2023. Available online at: Last accessed on 06/09/2023.
2. World Health Organization (WHO). Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants. Available online at: Last accessed on 06/09/2023.
3. European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). ECDC-EMA statement on updating COVID-19 vaccines composition for new SARS-CoV-2 virus variants. Available online at: Last accessed on 06/15/2023.
4. European Medicines Agency (EMA). Global regulators agree on way forward to adapt COVID-19 vaccines to emerging variants. Available online at: Last accessed on 06/09/2023.
5. World Health Organization. Statement on the antigenic composition of COVID-19 vaccines. Available online at: Last accessed on 06/26/2023.
6. DocCheck Flexicon. endemic. Available online at: Last accessed on 06/09/2023.
7. World Health Organization (WHO). Statement on the fifteenth meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic. Online verfügbar unter: Letzter Zugriff am 09.06.2023.
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Original content from: Moderna Germany GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell