ELLA BATES-HERMANS/Stuff
The Ministry of Health said there are no plans to get Omicron bivalent Covid-19 vaccines this year, saying further advice would be developed “ahead of autumn 2023”.
There are currently no plans under way to implement an Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccination programme in Aotearoa this year, officials say.
It comes as a leading modeller warned it was looking “increasingly likely” New Zealand would see another “significant” wave of the virus before the year was out, and called for the country to get bivalent Omicron vaccines “sooner rather than later” as parts of Europe are see an uptick in cases.
Despite this, and their use overseas, Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) says it isn’t in the works at this stage.
Further advice would be developed “ahead of autumn 2023, depending on which vaccines were available”, it said.
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The United Kingdom was the first country to approve an Omicron booster jab in mid-August – an updated version of the Moderna mRNA vaccine, based on the BA.1 lineage, and the original SARS-CoV-2 sequence.
Australia approved its first bivalent Covid-19 vaccine on August 29 (also Moderna), and the United States took a similar step on August 31.
An application was made by Pfizer to Medsafe for approval of its updated Omicron BA.1 bivalent vaccine in mid-September.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said Medsafe was continuing to assess the application “as a priority”.
The UK has approved a dual Covid vaccine developed by Moderna which targets both the original Covid virus as well as the Omicron variant. .
It is also awaiting data for the application for Pfizer’s BA.4 and BA.5 booster vaccinations. Studies into Pfizer’s BA.4/BA.5 bivalent vaccine were ongoing.
“At this time there are no plans currently underway to implement a bivalent Covid-19 vaccine programme this year,” the spokesperson said.
Te Whatu Ora recommended people stayed up-to-date with the recommended vaccines, to protect against the risk of serious illness, hospitalisation or death from the virus.
A recent analysis of nearly 1800 Covid-attributed deaths in Aotearoa found two doses of Covid-19 vaccine reduced the risk of death by 62%, compared with having fewer than two doses.
University of Otago Associate Professor of immunology and microbiology, James Ussher, said it remains to be seen whether bivalent boosters offer an advantage over existing Covid-19 vaccines.
While clinical trial data (of Moderna’s BA.1 bivalent vaccine) showed you get “more of a boost” in antibody levels against Omicron variants, how this corresponds to efficacy against severe disease is not yet known – and this was critical, he said.
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University of Otago Associate Professor James Ussher said there was no reason to rush into getting bivalent Covid-19 vaccines in New Zealand, and that we had the luxury of waiting to see how they stack up against severe disease from the international experience.
Ussher said thinking needed to change from seeking to protect against infection (which would require people be boosted on a “fairly frequent basis”) to trying to protect against severe disease, hospitalisation and death. Current vaccines were still “doing a very good job at that”.
Ussher said Aotearoa has the “luxury” of waiting to see whether bivalent vaccines provide an “edge” overseas, particularly amid our declining case rates; the majority of the population has been infected with Omicron creating “significant” population immunity; and we’re coming into summer.
“We’re likely to be in a pretty good place from an immunity point of view… I don’t think we need to be rushing.”
The timing of bivalent vaccines in the United States has been questioned by some infectious disease experts, who say the recommendation – that adults are eligible for an updated booster two months after completing their primary vaccine series, or three months after infection – is “missing the boat”.
Physicians argued such a short gap is “not optimal”, and instead the CDC should recommend a six-month gap between a previous booster or infection and the updated vaccine.
What about second booster eligibility?
Officials are looking at the expansion of eligibility for second boosters.
In a post-Cabinet press conference on Monday, Covid Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said the eligibility for the second booster was broadly in line with the rest of the world.
When asked whether the current advice was to keep the programme as it is, Verrall said “correct” – citing issues relating to the “additional benefit and risk balance” (whether the risk of side effects are outweighed by protection offered) among younger groups.
At present, second boosters are only indicated for people 16 and over who have a medical condition which increases their risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19, or live with a disability “with significant or complex health needs or multiple comorbidities”.
A second booster is also available for people 50 and over, and health, aged care and disability workers aged 30 and over.
On September 21, officials confirmed Director-General of Health, Dr Diana Sarfati, had received advice on second boosters for younger people and had gone back to ask clarifying questions – including broadening the scope.
The ministry was expecting the next round of advice “in the coming weeks”, which would again look at factors around the age of eligibility.
