A supply of Pfizer’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen at the Dekalb Children’s Center, after it is licensed in Georgia for ages 12 and older, in Decatur, Georgia, USA, 11 February. May 2021. REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry/File photo Purchase license rights
Aug. 17 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) said on Thursday that its updated COVID-19 vaccine, which is being tested against emerging variants, showed neutralizing activity against the “eris” subvariant in a study conducted in mice.
Pfizer, together with its German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE)as well as other manufacturers of vaccines against COVID-19 Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O) have created versions of their shots, which are targeting the XBB.1.5 sub-variant.
EG.5, nicknamed by some as “eris“, is similar to the XBB.1.5 subvariant and a sublineage of the still dominant Omicron variant.
EG.5 accounted for around more than 17% of COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the latest government data.
In the United States, COVID-19-related hospitalizations are up more than 40% from recent lows reached in June, but are still more than 90% below the peak levels reached during the Omicron outbreak in January 2022.
EG.5 has also been detected in China, South Korea, Japan, and Canada, among other countries.
World Health Organization classified EG.5 as a “variant of interest”, indicating that it should be watched more closely than others for mutations that could make it more contagious or severe.
Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bangalore; Edited by Shilpi Majumdar
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.