European Medicines Agency warns that pandemic is not over

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) warned Tuesday that the covid-19 pandemic “is still ongoing” and urged vaccination against the virus with the primary guideline or an updated booster dose. since the cold season increases the risk of infection.

EMA’s head of Vaccination Strategy, Marco Cavaleri, has stressed that the adapted bivalent vaccines to new variants of SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19, exhibit “different strains of the virus to broaden the immune response” towards the variants now circulating and has urged “prepare for a new wave of contagions, in line with the trend shown by the virus in the last two years.”

Priority in the use of these updated vaccines as a booster should be given to population with increased risk of severity, including those over 60 years of age, immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women, patients with underlying diseases that put them at risk, the elderly, and nursing home and healthcare personnel.

“In view of the autumn and winter season, we urge European citizens to. get the primary vaccine or to be revaccinated, if eligible, following the advice of their national health authority,” Cavaleri said.

Asked about the assertion this Monday by the U.S. president, Joe Biden, that “the pandemic is over,” the EMA’s chief medical officer, Steffen Thirstrup, has cautioned that “what should be clear is that. in Europe we still consider that the pandemic is still ongoing and that it is important for Member States to prepare” to strengthen protection and “prevent the spread of this disease” on the continent.

The EMA endorsed this month. three bivalent vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna Pharmaceuticals. adapted to subvariants of omicron such as BA.4 and BA.5, in addition to the original SARS-CoV-2 variant, an updated dose to prepare for waves of infections in the fall.

This preparation is intended for persons over 12 years of age who have received at least the primary guideline against the disease, is aimed at better protect against variant SARS-CoV-2 variants currently circulating and “is expected to provide broader protection against different variants,” the EMA said.