The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the use of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines adapted to protect against the Omicron coronavirus strain, the regulator said on Thursday.
The EMA Medicines Committee has recommended that two vaccines adapted for broader protection against COVID-19 be allowed to be used.
It notes that we are talking about vaccines aimed specifically at protecting against “omicron”.
According to the report, studies have shown that adapted versions of the vaccine “induce a strong immune response against Omicron and the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 in people who were previously vaccinated.”
Now the recommendation of the EMA committee will be sent to the European Commission, which “will make a final legally binding decision applicable in all EU member states”
Ukraine is negotiating with the governments of states and manufacturers of the Moderna vaccine on the supply of this drug to Ukraine, the Ministry of Health has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“The Ministry of Health and the government of Ukraine are negotiating both with the governments of the countries and with the manufacturers of vaccines regarding the possible supply of these drugs to Ukraine,” the Ministry of Health said.
The department reported that as of August 24, there were 805,652 doses of Moderna vaccine in warehouses in Ukraine.
The ministry clarified that the available Moderna vaccine will be used mainly for vaccination with the second dose of citizens who were vaccinated with the first dose.
As of August 24, there are more than 11 million vaccines from various manufacturers in national, regional and local warehouses.
The first 2 million doses of Moderna vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus, donated by the United States of America on the COVAX initiative, have arrived in Ukraine, UNICEF has reported.
“The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) delivered today 2,000,040 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the American company Moderna, to Ukraine. This batch of vaccines is donated by the U.S. Government through the global COVAX Facility,” the message reads.
As noted, this batch of COVID vaccine will be used to do vaccinations by mobile teams of organized and professional groups of the previous stages of vaccination.
“Our main goal is to protect as many Ukrainians against COVID-19 as possible. We are thankful to partners who stand with us. We are now accelerating vaccination roll-out, so everyone could have access to vaccines. I urge all Ukrainians who not yet got their shots to come and get vaccinated in the mass vaccination centers to protect their health,” said Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine
It is noted that Moderna is an mRNA vaccine. It requires special storage and transportation, which is provided by the United States Agency for International Development USAID.
