As the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic evolve, experts have voiced concerns about the increasing dominance of the KP2 subvariant in the United States. This strain has emerged from the lineage of the older JN1 variant, leading to crucial deliberations on which strain the fall’s COVID-19 vaccines should be designed to protect against. Despite the surge of the KP2 strain, the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (FDA’s VRBPAC) recently announced its recommendation to focus on the JN1 variant for upcoming vaccines.
While the JN1 strain used to be the most dominant variant in the US earlier this year, recent statistics by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal its current prevalence to be just 8.4% of all US cases over the two-week period ending May 25. Notably, the FLiRT family of strains, from which the KP2 variant has emerged, is rapidly becoming prominent. Specifically, the KP2 variant is estimated to be the largest circulating variant in the US, with a reported prevalence of 28.5%.
The JN1 variant has given rise to the new ‘FLiRT’ family of variants. The moniker ‘FLiRT’ is based on the technical nomenclature for their mutations, with some containing the letters ‘F’ and ‘L’ and others containing the letters ‘R’ and ‘T.’ Variants within this family can commence with the letters KP or JN.
As we watch these shifting variants unfold, the central question remains about how these changing strains will impact vaccine coverage or the disease’s severity linked with these novel mutations. Concerns are growing due to the potential summer rise in incidence rates triggered by increased social interactions.
In light of the above, Novavax, a vaccine manufacturer, has declared its readiness to produce a vaccine against the JN1 strain. Their vaccine has shown promising results with broad cross-neutralizing antibodies against descendants of JN1, including KP2 and KP3. This aligns with the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, and the unanimous agreement of the VRBPAC.
The VRBPAC, operating independently from the federal agency, hold ongoing meetings throughout the year to hear presentations about vaccines, review reported data from governmental agencies, and provide guidance on diverse vaccines. These recommendations play a crucial role in the final decisions made by the FDA and CDC concerning vaccine policies.
Source: https://www.contagionlive.com/view/fda-vrbpac-recommends-covid-19-vaccine-protection-for-jn1-variant