
-
Gauff cruises into Cincinnati quarter-final with Paolini
-
Apple rejects Musk claim of App Store bias
-
Searchers seek missing after deadly Italy migrant shipwreck
-
Air Canada cancels flights over strike threat
-
Trump turns history on head with Putin invitation to key US base
-
Gauff dominates Bronzetti to reach Cincinnati last eight
-
UN warns Russia, Israel of conflict sex crimes listing risk
-
Flood kills 46 in Indian Kashmir mountain village
-
Germany sacks rail chief with train network in crisis
-
Trump says Putin summit could fail, promises Ukraine say
-
Lyles v Thompson in re-run of Olympic 100m final in Silesia
-
LA 2028 to sell venue name rights in Olympic first
-
Solomon Islands says China not influencing diplomatic decisions
-
Flood kills 37 in Indian Kashmir mountain village
-
US stocks drop as producer inflation surges
-
Greenpeace stages Anish Kapoor art protest on UK gas platform
-
US producer inflation highest in three years in July
-
Greek firefighters beat back wildfires
-
Serbia's political crisis escalates into clashes
-
Australia recall O'Connor to face champions South Africa
-
Kremlin says Putin, Trump to hold 'one-on-one' talks in Alaska
-
Stocks diverge as bitcoin hits record high
-
Spain suffers third wildfire death, Greece beats back flames
-
Liverpool 'agree deal' for Parma prospect Leoni
-
Foreign NGOs say new Israeli rules keep them from delivering Gaza aid
-
Japan's grand tea master Sen Genshitsu dies at 102: reports
-
Water shortages plague Beirut as low rainfall compounds woes
-
Germany's Thyssenkrupp cuts targets as US tariffs weigh
-
Brady didn't understand football, says Rooney after 'work ethic' jibe
-
Greek firefighters make progress against wildfires
-
UK economy slows less than feared after tariffs
-
Markets mixed as bitcoin hits new high
-
PSG begin French title defence as Pogba returns home and Paris FC step up
-
At least 40 dead in Sudan's worst cholera outbreak in years: MSF
-
Zelensky in London to meet PM ahead of US-Russia summit
-
French dictionary gets bad rap over Congolese banana leaf dish
-
Alaska: a source of Russian imperial nostalgia
-
Last chance saloon for global plastic pollution treaty
-
India to bid for Commonwealth Games as part of Olympic push
-
North Korea denies removing border loudspeakers
-
Despite risks, residents fight to protect Russian national park
-
Asian markets mixed as bitcoin surges to new high
-
War-weary Ukrainians find solace by frontline lake
-
Okinawa a reluctant host for US troops 80 years after WWII
-
Alonso's Real Madrid start La Liga with fresh energy
-
Liverpool splash out to secure status as Premier League's top dogs
-
Hong Kong court postpones closing arguments in Jimmy Lai trial
-
Top Japanese fighter retires to support comatose boxer brother
-
Boars, Butterflies or Bees? Public to name Papua New Guinea's NRL team
-
Defending champions Sinner, Sabalenka reach Cincinnati quarters
CMSC | -0.09% | 23.15 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.34% | 14.9 | $ | |
RBGPF | 0% | 73.08 | $ | |
BTI | 0.63% | 57.474 | $ | |
NGG | 1.44% | 71.56 | $ | |
GSK | 0.04% | 39.145 | $ | |
RIO | -1.87% | 62.405 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 34.609 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.44% | 23.605 | $ | |
SCS | -0.83% | 16.225 | $ | |
RELX | -0.17% | 47.69 | $ | |
JRI | 0.28% | 13.437 | $ | |
BCC | -1.86% | 86.54 | $ | |
VOD | -0.13% | 11.635 | $ | |
BCE | 0.93% | 25.345 | $ | |
AZN | 0.57% | 78.39 | $ |

EU watchdog approves vaccine targeting Omicron sub-variants
The EU's medicines watchdog on Monday approved a vaccine specifically targeting the new and contagious types of the Omicron variant amid fears of a new wave of Covid-19 winter infections.
The so-called "bivalent" jab, made by Pfizer/BioNTech, is directed at the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 types of the variant and is the first of its kind to be approved within the 27-nation bloc.
"This recommendation will further extend the arsenal of available vaccines to protect people against Covid-19 as the pandemic continues and new waves of infections are anticipated in the cold season," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.
The vaccine also targets "the original strain of SARS-CoV-2" and comes 11 days after the Amsterdam-based drug watchdog approved vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna against the Omicron BA.1 variant.
The latest shot is aimed at people over 12 and who have already received at least one primary vaccination against the coronavirus, and it is an adaptive version of Pfizer's original Comirnaty vaccine.
European nations have been keen to rush through the new generation of jabs so they can start booster campaigns ahead of a feared Covid surge in the latter part of this year.
The latest vaccines "better match the circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 and are expected to provide broader protection against different variants," the EMA said.
"Prompt assessment of the available data on these adapted vaccines will enable their timely deployment in the autumn vaccination campaigns," it added.
The EMA's recommendation -- which will now be sent to the European Commission for a final decision -- was specifically based on clinical data from Pfizer's vaccines aimed at the original virus and the Omicron BA.1 variant.
- New wave feared -
"Apart from containing mRNA matching different, but closely related, Omicron sub-variants, Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5 and Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.1 have the same composition," the EMA said.
Pfizer's vaccine works on the principle of tiny molecules carrying instructions for the human body to temporarily produce spike proteins similar to those found on the coronavirus -- and which it uses to enter the body's cells.
The body's immune system recognises the spike protein as foreign and activates natural defences against them.
When a person then comes in contact with the real virus, the body's immune system will also recognise and attack it.
The United States authorised its first anti-Omicron vaccines late last month, approving Pfizer and Moderna jabs for the BA.4 and BA.5 strains.
Britain authorised the Moderna vaccine for the BA.1 type in mid-August.
While the original vaccines, approved nearly two years ago provided some protection against newer coronavirus variants, the race had been on to come out with a newer group of vaccines that also target the milder but more infectious Omicron strains.
While previous "variants of concern" like Alpha and Delta eventually petered out, Omicron and its sub-lineages have dominated throughout 2022.
The BA.4 and BA.5 types have in particular helped to drive a wave of new cases of the disease in Europe and the United States in recent months.
All Omicron variants tend to have a milder disease course as they settle less in the lungs and more in the upper nasal passages, causing symptoms like fever, tiredness and loss of smell.
jhe/rox
M.Furrer--BTB