EU regulator clears tweaked versions of COVID vaccines

LONDON (AP) — The European Medicines Agency has recommended the authorization of two coronavirus vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Inc., tweaked to include protection against an early version of the omicron variant. In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said the two messenger RNA vaccines offered protection both against the original version of COVID-19 and the omicron subvariant BA.1, which has since been overtaken globally by later omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. The European Medicines Agency said adapted vaccines are expected “to help maintain optimal protection against COVID-19 as the virus evolves.”