Australia has introduced Moderna’s bivalent vaccine into the COVID-19 booster program, which is anticipated to provide more protection against the Omicron variants.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommended that the Moderna bivalent vaccine, that targets both the original Wuhan strain and the Omicron variant BA. 1, be used as a booster dose in people aged 18 and over.
“Both bivalent and original vaccines result in an improvement in the immune response against BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariants, with the Moderna bivalent vaccine showing a small incremental benefit over the original vaccine for Omicron neutralisation,” ATAGI said in a statement released in September….