New COVID Shots to Be Reviewed by US FDA Advisers for Targeting JN.1 Variant

June 4 :
Committees advising the FDA on matters pertaining to the 2024–25 COVID vaccination cycle will decide whether or not to propose that the JN be the target of the vaccine.1 version, which has been the most common so far this year, according to documents submitted on June 3.

After the documents were revealed, Novavax shares jumped 11% in early session. It was announced last month that the company's COVID vaccination targeting the JN.1 form will only be available in the US this autumn if approved by regulators.
Vaccine developers working on the new booster injections may have to think about targeting one of the JN.1 subvariants, such KP.2, according to records from the FDA's staff. This is because the virus could evolve away from the earlier strain, according to the materials.

The advisers' meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, and the papers were uploaded in advance. This conference was rescheduled from May 16th to a later date because the FDA needed additional time to "obtain surveillance data and other information" regarding the virus that was circulating.

The advisors to the World Health Organisation suggested in April that the only strain to target when updating virus strains for vaccinations in the United States should be the JN.1 strain; however, this recommendation is at odds with the FDA's assessment. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech's mRNA vaccines, as well as those from Moderna, are able to be developed at a faster rate. Pfizer has previously stated that it could manufacture the doses in one hundred days.

U.S. CDC data shows that the subvariant KP.2 has since taken over as the most common strain in the country, accounting for an estimated 28.5% of infections in the two weeks ending May 25. Because Novavax produces a more conventional, time-consuming protein-based shot, it could be particularly affected by a deviation in vaccine strain from the worldwide norm when it comes to COVID vaccine production.