On August 29, 2022, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) provisionally approved Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, elasomeran/imelasomeran (SPIKEVAX Bivalent Original/Omicron) for use as a booster dose in adults 18 years and over. This is the first bivalent COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Australia. [1]
“The SPIKEVAX Bivalent Original/Omicron vaccine contains 25 micrograms of imelasomeran that targets the Omicron variant BA.1, and 25 micrograms of elasomeran that targets the original strain of SARSCoV-2. All other ingredients are the same as those used in Moderna’s original COVID-19 vaccine.”
Like the UK approval, but unlike the US EUA, Australia’s “provisionally approved” vaccine contains the BA.1 Omicron variant as well as the original “Wuhan” extinct variant.
According to the TGA: ” SPIKEVAX Bivalent Original/Omicron (elasomeran/imelasomeran) is the third mRNA vaccine to receive provisional approval in Australia. mRNA vaccines use a synthetic genetic code called RNA to give our cells instructions about how to make the coronavirus’ unique spike protein. When our body has made the protein encoded by the mRNA vaccine, it then recognises the spike protein as being foreign and launches an immune response against it. The RNA from the vaccine does not change, or interact, with our DNA in any way.”