The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is hoping to have access to multi-protection vaccines, including one that is able to address several coronavirus variants, by September 2022. Vaccine developers are currently investigating whether shots that target just one variant offer advantages over vaccines that target two variants, said Marco Cavaleri, Head of Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy at EMA.

According to Cavaleri, about half of all European Union (EU) citizens are fully vaccinated and boosted, while 15% of those over 18 have not received even one vaccine shot.

He nevertheless expects new trial data to come in over the next couple of months: “Our priority is to ensure that adaptive vaccines are possibly approved by September at the latest to be ready for the rollout of new immunisation campaigns in the EU in the autumn. [It] would allow manufacturers to adjust their production lines accordingly.”

The Chief Executive at one of COVID’s biggest vaccine maker, Pfizer’s Albert Bourla said in an interview that adults who are still unvaccinated are unlikely to seek out shots now, more than two years into the pandemic.

It will be the “already vaccinated” who account for demand, Bourla said.

At present, mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are the furthest along in their investigation. Moderna is developing a potential next generation booster targeted at both the Omicron variant as well as the original strain of the coronavirus in the hope of producing broader protection; BioNTech and Pfizer are also testing a similar shot.

Read: Switzerland to donate up to 15 million surplus COVID-19 vaccines

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