The Canadian Ministry of Health has approved an updated version of Moderna's COVID-19 booster vaccine. The new bivalent vaccines also target the Omicron BA.4 / BA.5 subvariants and are intended for use as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and older. This comes two months after the Canadian Ministry of Health approved a bivalent Moderna booster targeting the Omicron BA.1 variant and the original strain.

Also, the Canadian Ministry of Health stated that the bivalent booster elicits a "strong immune response" against both the newer Omicron subvariants, as well as the original SARS-CoV-2 virus strains. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization stated that Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are the dominant strains in circulation. They feature several key mutations from the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, which led NACI to strongly recommend bivalent boosters targeting Omicron.

On October 7, the Canadian Ministry of Health authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster for individuals aged 12 years or older. It also targets the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.