In a recent Vaccine Partner Newsletter, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) forecasted COVID-19 vaccine updates that are currently in the research, development, production and distribution process. These updates are intended to increase the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine by helping to target and protect against the most common variants of the COVID-19 virus.
Monovalent vs. Bivalent Vaccines
The four currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines are monovalent vaccines, meaning they target a single variant of the virus. These vaccines currently target the original SARS-CoV-2 virus strain that circulated early in the pandemic. Bivalent vaccines are designed to target two viruses rather than one, according to DOH and the National Cancer Institute. When the omicron variant, first identified in November 2021, became the dominant strain of COVID-19, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna developed a bivalent booster vaccine that targets both the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the omicron BA.1 subvariant. According to DOH, these bivalent vaccine boosters are in the pre-ordering phase and will be distributed first to local health partners and vaccine depots.
Bivalent Vaccine Updates
Though the omicron variant remains the most widespread COVID-19 variant worldwide, 90 percent of current cases are specifically caused by the omicron BA.5 subvariant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With this data in mind, the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) has recommended that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna revise their existing bivalent vaccines to include omicron BA.4 and BA.5 components. According to DOH, these modified bivalent vaccines may receive authorization as soon as September 2022. Eventually, the hope is that multivalent COVID-19 vaccines are developed to allow a variety of virus strains to be targeted by a single vaccine.
As additional information about bivalent COVID-19 vaccines becomes available, we will update community partners. To sign up to receive the DOH Vaccine Partner Newsletter, visit this link.