Pfizer said an updated version of their COVID-19 vaccine will be “ready in 100 days” if the new Omicron variant is resistant to its current vaccine
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Pfizer said it could update its COVID-19 vaccine if the Omicron variant proves to be resistant to its current vaccine.
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The company said it can update its current vaccine within 100 days.
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Pfizer expects to know within two weeks whether the variant is resistant, a spokesman told Reuters.
Pfizer said it would be able to manufacture and distribute an updated version of its COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days if the new variant Omicron proves to be resistant to its current vaccine.
Researchers first discovered the new variant in South Africa. It has since spread to several other countries, including Israel and Belgium, which has encouraged a wave of travel restrictions across Europe, Asia and North America, Insiders Aria Bendix reported. A health official said Saturday that two cases of the variant have been found in the UK.
The variant itself has several mutations that can make it easier for it to avoid antibodies that have developed in the body after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The mutations can also cause the variant to spread easily – even among vaccinated.
The World Health Organization has labeled Omicron as “variant of concern, “a distinction given to the most threatening coronavirus variants. Delta, the variant that rose all summer in the United States, was the last to receive the mark.
It is not yet clear whether existing COVID-19 vaccines will protect against the variant. But vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer are already considering their options.
“Pfizer and BioNTech took steps months ago to be able to adapt the mRNA vaccine within six weeks and send initial batches within 100 days in the event of an escape,” the company said in a statement. announcement.
Pfizer expects to know within two weeks whether the variant is resistant to its current vaccine, a company spokesman said. Reuters.
“We expect more data from the laboratory tests by two weeks at the latest. This data will provide more information on whether B.1.1.529 may be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally,” the spokesman said.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are also preparing to respond to Omicron’s potential threat.
Moderna said Friday that it plans to test one variant-specific booster in the event that its current vaccine proves to be ineffective against Omicron.
“From the beginning, we have said that when we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we be proactive as the virus develops. The mutations in the Omicron variant are worrying, and for several days we have been moving as fast as possible. to execute our strategy to address this variant, “said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel in a Press release.
Johnson & Johnson is also tests the effectiveness of its vaccine against the Omicron variant.
Read the original article regarding Business Insider
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