The WHO has recommended COVID-19 vaccine formulations move away from the original strain. Why the shift away from previous vaccines? In addition to the US, these vaccines have already been approved in Canada, Japan, Singapore and Europe. "It's a much better match for what's going around at the moment." The new vaccines don't specifically target these strains as they were made for another Omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5 (sometimes known as Kraken).īut that strain is very closely related to Pirola and Eris so the XBB.1.5 vaccines will offer crossover immunity, says Paul Griffin, director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is "monitoring" Pirola but has classified Eris as a variant of interest given its prevalence. Now, Omicron subvariants EG.5 (nicknamed Eris) and BA.2.86 (dubbed Pirola) are circulating Australia. This differs from the most recent boosters which were bivalent and tailored to protect against both the original strain of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.īut COVID-19 has mutated several times since Omicron arrived in Australia in 2021, and we no longer see the original strain first detected in Wuhan. That means they're designed to specifically target one COVID-19 variant. The composition of the two new vaccines, which are already available in the US, is different to those you may have already received.īut that's what makes them more effective at this time. That means those who roll up their sleeves could have boosted protection against severe disease and hospitalisation by Christmas Day.Įxperts say that's critical given Australia is in the midst of a fresh COVID-19 wave which could see millions infected (or re-infected) in the next few months, according to one of the country's eminent infectious disease experts.
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