According to studies, higher antibody concentrations against the omicron variant BA.1 developed thanks to the Cormirnaty Bivalent vaccine than with the booster of the conventional Pfizer vaccine, Swissmedic announced Monday. The side effects were similar to those of the original vaccine.
The modified vaccine met the requirements for safety, effectiveness and quality in the roll test by the inspection body. It is administered at a dose of 30 micrograms. Half of this consists of the original mRNA vaccine (tozinameran) and the other half of the mRNA drug against the omicron variant (ritozinameran).
With the approval of the Pfizer product, Switzerland has two vaccines against the Omikron BA.1 variant to start the second booster vaccination for the population on Monday.
At the end of August, Swissmedic approved a vaccine from the manufacturer Moderna. The new vaccines contain messenger ribonucleic acid against both the spike protein of the original Wuhan variant and that of Omicron BA.1. Switzerland received three and a half million doses of this bivalent vaccine Spikevax from Moderna at the end of September.
At the end of September, Pfizer – the world’s largest pharmaceutical company – submitted an application to Swissmedic for approval of another vaccine against ommicron. This vaccine, which is also bivalent, is intended to stimulate the formation of antibodies against the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
(SDA)