Updated Covid vaccines expected in the fall

Covid vaccines that have been updated to protect people against hospitalization and death from the Omicron variant of the virus are expected to receive approval by the end of the month.

Given that they get the green light in August, the new vaccines will be available to the public by the fall, Health Minister Thanos Plevris told Skai radio on Friday, adding that they will be further updated a bit later to include protection against the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Pfizer and Moderna are working on boosters that target Omicron, as well as older variants. Plevris said that Greece has arranged its orders for the third quarter of the year in order to ensure a sufficient supply of the updated shots.

Asked about the course of the current wave of the pandemic in Greece, Plevris appeared confident that numbers will ease through the month, before climbing back up again in September.