Moderna stated last week that data has shown in an initial study, that its updated COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the ‘Eris’ and ‘Fornax’ subvariants in humans, Reuters has reported. The company expects the updated shot to be available, pending approval from health regulators in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, in the coming weeks for the fall vaccination season in the US. Moderna and other COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers Novavax, Pfizer, and German partner BioNTech SE have created versions of its shots aimed at the XBB.1.5 subvariant. Earlier, Pfizer reported that its updated COVID-19 shot, codeveloped with BioNTech, showed neutralising activity against the Eris subvariant in a study conducted on mice.              

Eris, the nickname for EG.5, is similar to the XBB.1.5 subvariant and a sub-lineage of the stilldominant Omicron variant. EG.5 accounted for about more than 17% of COVID-19 cases in the US, according to the latest government data. Infections from Fornax, officially known as FL 1.5.1, are also rising across the country. COVID-19-related hospitalisations in the US are up more than 40% on low numbers from Jun but are still more than 90% below peak levels hit during the Omicron outbreak in Jan 2022. The World Health Organization classified EG.5 as a “variant of interest”, indicating that it should be more closely watched than others because of mutations that might make it more contagious or severe, Reuters has reported.