Canada today released the new version of the vaccine against modern covid specifically directed against the Omicron variant.
Canadian health authority Health Canada said clinical trials of the new immunization showed “significantly higher” immune responses than its predecessor against the now-dominant Omicron variant.
Canada has already bought 12 million doses of this new vaccine and hopes to begin vaccination by the end of September, Howard Njoo, federal deputy director of public health, said at a news conference.
The new vaccine targets both the original strain of the coronavirus and the BA.1 variant of the coronavirus, which caused the fifth wave of infection in the country late last year.
It also provides better protection against: the BA.4 and BA.5 lines of the Omicron variant.
New versions of Covid immunizers adapted to the Omicron variant have also just been approved by the European Union and the United States.
Moderna’s new vaccine is aimed at people over the age of 12 who have received at least a first dose against Covid-19.
While Covid vaccines have helped reduce hospitalizations and deaths from this virus that was first reported in China in late 2019, current immunizations are mainly targeting earlier strains of the disease.
World Health Organisation (WHO) warned in July that the pandemic was “far from over” due to the spread of Omicron subvariants, the lifting of health restrictions and the decline in screening tests.
