Moderna says its updated Covid-19 vaccine effective against Eris variant in humans

NEW YORK - Moderna said on Thursday that initial study data showed its updated Covid-19 vaccine to be effective against the “Eris” and “Fornax” sub-variants.

The company expects the updated shot to be available – pending approval from health regulators in the United States, Europe and elsewhere – in the coming weeks for the autumn vaccination season.

Moderna and other Covid-19 vaccine makers – Novavax as well as Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech – have created versions of their shots aimed at the XBB.1.5 sub-variant.

Earlier on Thursday, Pfizer reported that its updated Covid-19 shot, developed with BioNTech, showed neutralising activity against the Eris sub-variant in a study conducted on mice.

Eris, the nickname for EG.5,

is similar to the XBB.1.5 sub-variant

and is a sub-lineage of the still-dominant Omicron variant.

EG.5 accounted for more than 17 per cent of Covid-19 cases

in the US, according to latest government data. Infections from Fornax, officially known as FL1.5.1, are also rising across the country.

Covid-19-related hospitalisations in the US are up by more than 40 per cent on low numbers from June, but are still more than 90 per cent below the peak levels seen during the Omicron outbreak in January 2022.

The World Health Organisation has classified EG.5 as a “variant of interest”, indicating that it should be more closely watched than others because of mutations that might make it more contagious or severe. REUTERS