JUN LI/iStock via Getty Images The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has postponed a key meeting scheduled to determine the formula for the next set of COVID-19 vaccines amid a sudden spike in COVID cases linked to the newly found FLiRT variants.
Derived from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the new variants include KP.2 and KP.1.
1, which accounted for ~28% and ~7% of cases in the U.S., respectively, for the two weeks ending May 11, according to data from the CDC.
A month ago, KP.2 and KP.1.
1 made up ~6% and ~1% of cases in the U.S. as the Omicron JN.
1 variant, mutations of which led to FLiRT variants, dominated COVID prevalence. Days later, the WHO recommended updating COVID-19 vaccine formulations to reflect JN.1.
The global agency noted that the previous set of COVID-19 vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer ( NYSE: PFE ), BioNTech ( NASDAQ: BNTX ), Moderna ( NASDAQ: MRNA ), and Novavax ( NASDAQ: NVAX ), targeting the XBB.1.5 variant, will lose efficacy as the virus evolves from JN.
1. Meanwhile, with COVID variants constantly changing, the FDA delayed a key advisory meeting scheduled to discuss the next vaccine formulation from May 16 to June 5 to collect more data. The regulator reassured that the decision will not impact the availability of COVID-19 shots for the fall immunization drive.
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