3 ms·

Why aren't we updating the mRNA vaccines to better combat the new variants? Wasn't the initial thinking that we'd all get an updated shot once or twice a year?

• throwaway12245 4y ago
  We did. It's called the "bivalent" booster. We have paxlovid and the omicron variants are much milder than the previous strains.
  • tpmx 4y ago
    I had simply missed the news, apologies. EU: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ecdc-ema-statement-booster-vaccination-omicron-adapted-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ecdc-ema-statement-booster... (sep 2022) Haven't been offered this, though.
    • nend 4y ago
      Not sure about elsewhere but it's widely available in the us at pretty much any pharmacy.
    • loeg 4y ago
      In the US it's widely available, I got it something like a year ago.
• wiml 4y ago
  We are? I got an updated booster for Omicron variants last June.
• astrange 4y ago
  There is one, but it's not necessarily worth it because the original is "good enough". Also, future strains might be more like the 2020 version again; no reason they wouldn't be. A better upgrade will be when it's a nasal spray. That's more effective at blocking transmission, and some people just don't like needles.