EU regulator starts reviewing Spanish COVID vaccine booster

MADRID (AP) — The European Union’s drug regulator says it has begun an accelerated review process for an experimental coronavirus vaccine booster made by the Spanish company Hipra. The European Medicines Agency said in a statement Tuesday that its evaluation is based on preliminary data from laboratory studies and research in adults that compared Hipra’s booster shot to the vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech. It said early results suggest the immune response achieved with Hipra “may be effective” against COVID-19, including omicron. Hipra is intended to be a booster shot in people who have been fully vaccinated with other vaccines like those made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.