Moderna seeks Health Canada nod for new double-protection COVID-19 booster
Global News
Moderna has submitted an application to Health Canada for approval of its new COVID-19 vaccine, designed to protect against the original strain and Omicron variant of the virus.
Moderna has submitted an application to Health Canada for approval of its new COVID-19 vaccine, designed to protect against both the original strain and Omicron variant of the virus.
Patricia Gauthier, president and general manager for Moderna Canada, says the application for its combination shot, known as a bivalent vaccine, was submitted to the Canadian regulator Thursday.
If approved quickly, doses could be ready for Canadians as early as September, she said.
“Everybody wants a bivalent and want it for the early fall. This is why we are working very closely with the federal government to finalize the number of doses they want and when so that we can meet the needs of Canada.”
Global News has requested confirmation from Health Canada that it has received this application, but has not yet received a response.
By combining both the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain first detected in Wuhan and the BA.1 subvariant of the Omicron variant, Moderna says its vaccine provides broader protection, including some immunity against the fast-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, which now make up at least half of all coronavirus cases in the United States.
“With the new variants of concern that are emerging, we need to use our mRNA platform to help us stay, maybe not ahead of it, but at least current with it and really relevant with the new variants of concern that emerge,” Gauthier said.
Moderna’s preliminary study results show people given its combination shot experienced a higher boost in Omicron-fighting antibodies than if they just got a fourth dose of the original vaccine.
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