Moderna with important update on Omikron! This is what the Moderna boss says about the effectiveness!


Moderna just gave an important update about a booster for Omikron! This is what you need to know now, is it worth the wait for the new booster?

Moderna gives update on Omikron effectiveness!

In just over a week, the Omicron variant has raised new concerns about the coming months of the pandemic. In addition to how contagious it could be, experts also worry that the latest viral mutation may be able to bypass the protection of existing vaccines and the natural immunity of those who were already infected with the virus. With the fast-spreading variant first reported on December 1, health officials are urging everyone to get vaccinated or a booster. While we wait for more data on Omikron and the dangers it poses, a senior executive at vaccine maker Moderna has outlined the company’s plans to fight the variant with a new vaccine.

In an interview with Reuters on December 1, Moderna’s president, Dr. Stephen Hoge, said the company had already begun work on a vaccine designed specifically for the latest variant. He also revealed that a multivalent vaccine was in the works that would work against four different variants of the virus, including Omikron.

Omicron program is already underway!

“We have already started this program,” he told Reuters. He added, however, that without changes from the FDA on the data needed for approval, Omicron-specific booster vaccines are not realistically expected before March and perhaps closer to the second quarter.

Part of the scientists’ concern centered on the large number of spike protein mutations on Omicron, with Hoge previously calling it “a Frankenstein mix of all the greatest hits” to the New York Times. He told Reuters that researchers needed more data to assess the type of threat the new variant could pose.

“The mutations that had previously led to the biggest impact losses were seen in Delta and Beta. And all of those mutations have shown up in Omicron,” Hoge said. “So the question is, will we see Delta-like performance? Are we going to see a Beta-like performance? Or are we going to see a mix of both? I think the last scenario worries people the most.

Also “normally” vaccinated protected from Omicron?

Hoge also said the company is currently assessing whether people who received both the initial 100-microgram dose of the company’s vaccine and the 50-microgram booster dose are still protected. Ultimately, however, he remained cautiously optimistic that the current vaccines could be effective against the latest virus outbreak. “I still believe that the existing vaccines can at least slow down the Omikron variant, if not stop it altogether,” he said.

Hoge’s comments came days after fellow Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel cast doubt on the ability of current vaccines to protect against Omicron in a Nov. 30 interview with the Financial Times. “I don’t think there is a world where [efficacy] is the same level as Delta,” he said, adding that the number of mutations in the virus’s spike proteins meant that the vaccines currently in use would likely need to be changed.

Efficacy probably no longer strong!

“I think it will be a substantial decline. I just don’t know how much because we have to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to agree: ‘This is not going to go well,'” Bancel warned.

Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson have also announced that they are working on vaccines specific to the Omicron variant in case their existing vaccines are not effective against the new variant of COVID. However, health officials are warning the public to protect themselves sooner rather than later.

“At this point, I wouldn’t wait,” Anthony Fauci, MD, COVID chief adviser to the White House, said during a Dec. 1 press conference, according to CNN. “People say, ‘Well, if we get a variant-specific booster shot, should we wait?’ If you’re eligible – think six months with a double dose of mRNA or two months for the J&J dose – get a booster now.”

Fauci went on to explain that pre-existing vaccinations would also provide some protection. “Our experience with variants like the delta variant is that even if the vaccine doesn’t specifically target the delta variant, if you have a strong enough immune response, you get spillover protection even against a variant that the vaccine doesn’t specifically target,” he said. “That’s why we think that even though we don’t have a lot of data on this, there’s every reason to believe that this kind of boost that you get with the boost would be helpful, at least in preventing severe disease in a variant like Omicron.”

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