Australia's medicines watchdog has approved Pfizer's latest COVID-19 vaccine application, meaning Australians could soon get a jab that targets a more recent variant.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) confirmed to SBS News it recently approved Pfizer's JN.1 Comirnaty vaccine for people over six months old.
The new vaccine targets which belongs to a .
The KP.3 variant is behind most of Australia's current caseload and are on the rise, according to the Victorian government's latest COVID-19 surveillance report.
These have some new mutations but like JN.1 also stem from the Omicron variant.
'A closer match'
Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, told SBS News the JN.1 Omicron variant is closely related to the XEC variant.
"The closer the match between the vaccine and the circulating variant, the more effective the vaccine is," she said.
The XEC variant is what's called a recombinant of two earlier variants: KS.1.1 and KP.3.3.
Paul Griffin, the director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services in Brisbane, said he expects the new vaccine will provide "increased protection compared to the ".
A new COVID-19 vaccine has been approved in Australia. Source: AAP / Rungroj Yongrit/EPA
Esterman recommends that people aged 75 or older, those who are immunocompromised, or people with chronic conditions like diabetes should receive the currently available XBB.1.5 vaccines if it has been more than six months since their last booster.
"For anyone else, it is probably worth waiting for the new vaccine since it is closer to the current circulating subvariants," he said.
When could Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine be made available?
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation must first recommend to the government that the vaccine should join the rollout and determine dosage guidelines before it is made available to the public.
The Department of Health and Aged Care previously told SBS News it anticipated the updated jabs would be rolled out in 2024-25, subject to approvals.
"The department intends to make updated Pfizer JN.1 COVID-19 vaccines available to eligible individuals as soon as possible," a spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.
The spokesperson said: "All available COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide strong protection against serious disease."
Last year, the TGA approved Pfizer's XBB.1.5 vaccine in October. It was made available in early December.
What about Moderna and Novavax's new COVID-19 vaccines?
Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA-based, while Novavax's is protein-based.
That means it delivers the spike protein directly into the body rather than instructing cells to produce it.
Vaccine manufacturers focus on the spike protein to teach the immune system to recognise and attack the virus before it can enter cells.
Novavax has not yet applied for TGA approval of its JN.1 vaccine but has said it intends to.
"Timing of the application is still to be confirmed but we are working towards an approval and supply in time for the Australian 2025 winter," a spokesperson for Biocelect, Novavax's sponsor in Australia, said.
A health department spokesperson previously told SBS News Novavax's updated vaccine would be made available "as soon as possible following regulatory approval".
Earlier this year, Novavax withdrew because the autumn and winter seasons were "already well underway".
Moderna is also seeking TGA approval for its JN.1 vaccine, but the health department .
"The Government has entered into agreements with multiple manufacturers to ensure the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and has secured sufficient doses for Australia’s needs," a department spokesperson said on Thursday.
