WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The WHO Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition, or TAG-CO-VAC, has sought data from vaccine manufacturers and regulatory authorities before its decision-making meeting on future updates to Covid vaccine antigen composition.
The WHO Technical Advisory Group continues to closely monitor the genetic and antigenic evolution of Sars-CoV-2 variants, immune responses to Sars-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19 vaccination, and the performance of vaccines against circulating variants. Based on these evaluations, WHO advises vaccine manufacturers and regulatory authorities on the implications for future updates to Covid-19 vaccine antigen composition. The next decision-making meeting of the TAG-CO-VAC is scheduled for December, after which a statement on Covid vaccine antigen composition and an accompanying data annex will be published on the WHO website. These meetings are timed to balance the availability of the latest epidemiological, immunological, and virological data, with the kinetics of vaccine-induced protection and the lead time manufacturers need to update the antigen composition of authorized Covid-19 vaccines.
To inform decisions on Covid vaccine antigen composition, the TAG-CO-VAC reviews data on the genetic evolution of Sars-CoV-2 and the antigenic characteristics of previously and currently circulating variants.
The TAG-CO-VAC also considers vaccine effectiveness estimates of currently approved Covid vaccines, particularly those that control for time since vaccination and that provide variant-specific estimates across different vaccine platforms for protection against any infection, symptomatic disease, and severe disease.
In addition, the TAG-CO-VAC reviews available data from vaccine manufacturers, including animal and human studies demonstrating the breadth and durability of immune responses elicited by currently authorized vaccines, as well as any vaccine candidates in development.
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