Health Canada approved the updated Pfizer vaccine to protect people six months and older from COVID-19.
Thursday authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine targets the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant of the virus that causes COVID.
The updated vaccine is administered in one dose for children ages five and older.
Children between six months and five years old who have not received the primary series should receive three doses.
Pfizer Canada said it expects the newly formulated vaccine to be available “in the coming weeks” before the respiratory virus season is forecast to peak.
modern updated vaccine It was approved earlier this month.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Lynora Saxinger answers viewers’ questions about the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines, their effectiveness against the latest variants, and the best time to get another shot.
“Canada will have ample supply of the new mRNA vaccine formulation available in the fall of 2023,” Health Canada said in a statement.
The regulator is also reviewing Novavax’s latest vaccine targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant for people aged 12 and older.
Federal officials do not call vaccines “boosters.” Rather, they view the updated options similarly to annual flu shots.
The latest report from the Public Health Agency of Canada for the week ending September 23 shows that test positivity for the virus that causes COVID-19 has increased since early July.
The agency also said that the activity of common cold viruses, known as enteroviruses and rhinoviruses, is increasing, as expected for this time of year.
