COVID-19 And Its Implications

Targeting the JN.1 subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus will facilitate timely vaccination campaigns in Europe to help reduce the burden of disease associated with COVID-19, according to the EU regulator.

AstraZeneca’s sipavibart for preventing COVID-19 in the highly vulnerable population of immunocompromised patients is among the latest drugs that the European Medicines Agency has started to review for potential pan-EU marketing authorization.

The EMA is proposing to update its two previous guidelines on COVID-19 vaccines to offer consolidated advice on the non-clinical and clinical development of new SARS-CoV-2 or related sarbecovirus vaccines.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted for a universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation for 2024-2025, but said the decision would have been easier with a lower-cost product.

Revised recommendation is based on most recent data on circulating strains in US, where KP.3 is now dominant. Novavax sticks with plans targeting the JN.1 ‘parent strain.’

Advisory committee members said having Novavax’s protein-based vaccine available in the fall was important, but would not have been possible if a different variant strain were used. They also worried separate recommendations by vaccine type would cause confusion.

The amendments agreed by the World Health Assembly include a definition of a pandemic emergency as well as ways to help improve access to health products.

The European Medicines Agency is this week deciding whether the planned EU filings for sipavibart, lifileucel and Blenrep – which was previously approved but withdrawn in the EU and the US – merit an accelerated assessment.

At this week’s World Health Assembly, a working group will be set up to discuss the next steps for talks on a global pandemic treaty and try to reach a final agreement on amendments to the International Health Regulations.

The final version of amendments to the IHR is due to be discussed at this week’s World Health Assembly, alongside the way forward for the proposed global pandemic treaty.

Panelists at a webinar discussed what went awry in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lessons to be learned in future in areas such as procurement, equitable access and regulatory processes.

Government agencies and others need to improve their communication to a broad audience about the relative safety of vaccines, as well as current scientific uncertainty, experts said at the FDLI annual meeting.

A co-chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body says that whatever happens over the coming fortnight, a report on the outcome of the talks will be delivered to the World Health Assembly at the end of this month.

The talks are still tough, with the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing proposal proving the most difficult aspect of the treaty, but there is cautious optimism that some form of agreement may be reached this week.

Variant vaccine approvals can be based on manufacturing/quality and non-clinical data as long as data on earlier vaccines support the predictability of clinical immunogenicity and reactogenicity.

The Office of Vaccines Research and Review's delayed receipt policy ended in 2023, but took another two months to fully unwind, Director David Kaslow said.