The key facts

  • The WHO expert group will issue vaccine recommendations in December 2026
  • The PJ.2.1, ST.1 and SW.2.1 variants will be considered
  • No more severe course of disease has been recorded for PJ.2.1 so far; the at-risk group is people aged 60 and older

WHO to review vaccine composition recommendations

The expert group of the World Health Organization will issue recommendations on COVID-19 vaccines in December 2026 — the reason was the spread of the new coronavirus strain PJ.2.1. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti and the international organization.

What exactly the experts will consider

The WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 vaccine composition will evaluate data on the PJ.2.1, ST.1 and SW.2.1 variants. According to the organization, the experts will analyze the genetic evolution and spread of the variants, their antigenic characteristics, as well as data on vaccine immunogenicity and effectiveness. The outcome of the discussions should be updated recommendations on vaccine composition.

What is known about the strain itself

According to available data, PJ.2.1 may differ from other variants by severe sore throat and a longer period of fatigue after illness. Despite its high rate of spread, there is so far no clinical evidence of a more severe course of the disease compared with other recently identified SARS-CoV-2 variants: specialists are not reporting an increase in pneumonia cases, respiratory failure, or deaths. The main at-risk group is elderly people aged 60 and older. In Russia, according to the publication, modern test systems have been developed for all coronavirus strains, which makes it possible to detect the virus with each mutation.

Context

Earlier, on November 1, Gennady Onishchenko assessed the risk of the spread of the new PJ.2.1 strain — this was also reported by Gazeta.Ru. The specific conclusions of that assessment are not given in the available publications. It is also unknown what the December WHO recommendations will contain: sources do not specify whether updating the vaccine composition will be mandatory for manufacturers.