EMA recommends updating vaccines against covid-19

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) this week recommended updating vaccines against Covid-19 for the 2024/2025 vaccination campaign, to protect against the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, JN.1.

The recommendation was made by the Emergency Situations Working Group (ETF) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after consulting the World Health Organization (WHO), international partners and holders of drug authorizations. introduction of vaccines against Covid-19 onto the market.

The working group also considered “a wide range of data, including data on the evolution of the virus and data from animal studies on the effects of vaccine candidates targeting JN.1”, the EMA said in a statement.

Evidence indicates that targeting JN.1 will help maintain vaccine effectiveness as SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve.

“JN.1 differs from the XBB family targeted by previous updated vaccines and has now surpassed the XBB variants to become the most circulating variant around the world”, he highlights.

Marketing authorization holders should now contact the EMA to discuss marketing authorization updates for their vaccines.

“All marketing authorization holders are expected to update the composition of their authorized vaccines in accordance with this recommendation”, highlights the EMA.

Companies that are currently developing new COVID-19 vaccines that do not target JN.1 are also encouraged to contact the EMA to discuss strategies for changing the composition of their vaccines.

EU national authorities will ultimately make decisions on vaccination campaigns for 2024 and 2025, taking into account the situation in their country.