Good Day BIO: Omicron-focused vaccines authorized for kids

The FDA authorized Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna bivalent vaccines targeting the Omicron COVID-19 variant for kids. A biodiversity report shows urgent need for action – and we tell you how biotech can help. (621 words, 3 minutes, 6 seconds)

Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech Omicron-focused boosters authorized for kids

The FDA yesterday authorized Omicron-focused Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use as boosters for young kids.

What it means: Children as young as 6 can receive the bivalent Moderna vaccine as a booster, and children as young as 5 can receive the Pfizer bivalent vaccine as a booster, the FDA announced. The original, monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech shot is no longer authorized as a booster for 5-11-year-olds; both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech monovalent shots remain authorized for the primary series in anyone six months and older.

The bivalent boosters contain “an mRNA component of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and a component of Omicron lineage BA.1.” They received EUA from the FDA on Aug. 31 for use in adults and children as young as 12.

Why it matters: “Boosting with updated mRNA vaccines that target SARS-CoV-2 variants stimulates better neutralizing antibody responses than homologous boosters,” found research published in Nature last week. Antibodies produced by the booster last longer, “with neutralizing antibodies decaying less rapidly after the bivalent vaccine than after the monovalent ancestral booster.”

The problem now: getting shots in arms. Fewer than 1 in 3 kids ages 5-11 have received their primary COVID vaccines, and only about 58% of kids 12-17, reports Axios.

It's the same for adults: The Kaiser Family Foundation found only half of adults have heard “a lot” (17%) or “some” (33%) about the updated boosters, Bio.News reports. Around 12% of adults surveyed said they would definitely not get the shot, 10% said they’d only get it if required, and 18% said they would wait and see.

Vote for BIO members for Pantheon Awards

California Life Sciences (CLS) is soliciting votes for its annual Pantheon Awards, recognizing “the state’s leaders from across the pharmaceutical, biotech and other allied industries.”

Several BIO members are up for awards, including:

• BIO Board Members Paul Hastings (CEO of Nkarta Therapeutics) and Dr. Ted Love (CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics)
• Dr. Emily Leproust, CEO of Twist Bioscience
• Day One Biopharmaceuticals and Travere Therapeutics, both nominated for the biopharma award, presented to the company that made the greatest advancement or contribution to the California life sciences sector the previous year.

Click here to cast your vote now!

More Health Care News

Reuters: Novavax says COVID booster dose shows benefit against Omicron variants
"Novavax Inc. said [yesterday] data from studies in adults and adolescents showed that the booster dose of its COVID vaccine produced robust antibodies against several Omicron variants, including BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5."

Biannual biodiversity report shows serious decline

The populations of vertebrates on the planet are declining at an alarming rate, according to the Living Planet Index, a biannual report that issued its latest edition yesterday.

“Monitored” populations of vertebrates declined 69% on average between 1970 and 2018, says the Living Planet Report 2022, considered one of the most ambitious efforts to assess the state of global biodiversity of vertebrates. (This does not mean we have 69% fewer vertebrates; this was the average decline of 31,821 monitored populations, representing 5,230 species, The New York Times notes.)

“The findings are stark” and show rapid expansion of “the speed and scale of change in biodiversity,” says the report. If we do not limit warming to 1.5°C, climate will be the dominant cause of biodiversity loss, the report explains.

For now, the greatest pressure on biodiversity still comes from land-use change—cultivating or building on natural habitats.

Biotech companies can play a role—helping farmers conserve and grow more with less land and fewer chemical inputs, says CropLife International, an organization that includes BIO members BASF, Bayer, and Corteva.

Biotech tools supporting biodiversity include gene editing, which helps crops resist pests and disease, grow with fewer inputs, and last longer; animal feed that reduces emissions; farming methods that improve soil health and capture carbon; and innovations that address the climate, according to a recent CropLife International report.

President Biden’s Thursday: Speaking in Los Angeles about investments under the bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Recess.