later this month for a fall vaccination campaign, but the public health response is still struggling to keep up with a fast-evolving virus. The shots were designed months ago to target a variant, XBB.1.5, that is no longer dominant.
Subsequent studies indicated BA.2.86 may not be as immune evasive as originally feared. Moderna said Wednesday its updated shot produced a strong immune response against BA.2.86 during a clinical trial.published last month, said BA.2.86 may be more adept at causing infection but there's no evidence the variant results in more severe illness. The updated shots should be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization from the variant, according to the agency.
"It's not going to be the tsunami of cases that we've seen," said Fauci, who stepped down last year from his role as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House chief medical advisor.