(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is setting up guidelines to expedite reviews of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs targeting the Omicron variant, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Companies working on Omicron-tailored vaccines would be expected to meet standards similar to those required for authorization of boosters, the report said.
The FDA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Makers of widely used COVID-19 vaccines, such as Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc partner BioNTech, have said they are working on new shots targeting the variant while also conducting tests to determine if their original shots work.
The variant has forced countries around the globe to plan tighter restrictions, threatening the economic recovery and sparking a selloff in financial markets.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
