When is the Omikron vaccine coming? Vaccine manufacturers are working feverishly Omikron variant


It’s only been in the last few days that the world has learned of the existence of the Omikron variant of Corona. But already some people want to delay their booster vaccination until there is a vaccine adapted to the Omikron variant of the coronavirus. How long is it expected to take for that vaccine to become available?

Omicron variant causes great excitement

.

Since its discovery a few days ago, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been keeping the world on tenterhooks. And vaccine manufacturers are also in a tizzy because the Omikron variant may be able to circumvent the protection provided by vaccines, For this reason, the two pharmaceutical companies Biontech and Moderna are already working on adapting their vaccines against the new variant. The US pharmaceutical company Moderna expects to be able to supply a vaccine specifically for the Omikron variant by March 2022 at the latest. This is reported by the English newspaper “Daily Mail”, which refers to Stephen Hodge, the president of the pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. However, Hodges also believes that the booster is a good way to better combat the new corona mutant.

Are vaccinations against infection with Omicron less effective?

In general, there are fears that the new mutant may be able to trick immune defenses with vaccines due to numerous mutations on the spike protein. At least, this is what the

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel had gone on record in recent days. His colleague, Moderna President Hodge believes, however, that the booster vaccines are likely to increase protection against Omikron as well. Preferably, of course, with a vaccine specifically tailored to the newly discovered mutations. Hodge confirms that research on an adapted vaccine is already underway. Moderna is already working on a multivalent vaccine that will be effective against up to four different coronavirus variants. One of these is said to be the new Omikron variant. Many experts already believe that Omikron could be the much feared immune escape variant because a total of 32 mutations have been discovered on the spike protein. All currently approved vaccines target the spike protein for detection. Work on a new vaccine has also already begun at Biontech.

Vaccine makers aim to be able to deliver special Omikron vaccine from March 2022

.

Fortunately, adapting vaccines takes much less time than developing them. Both Biontech and Moderna expect to be able to deliver a finished vaccine within a little more than 3 months. Still, Hodge assumes it would take longer for enough vaccine to be ready for delivery. “The Omikron-specific boosters aren’t realistically coming until March and maybe more in the second quarter,” Hodge clarified. To save time, Moderna and Biontech will again run the development and approval process for the adapted vaccine in parallel. Despite Omikron’s mutations, most experts are confident that vaccination with currently available vaccines can also prevent severe progression of the disease in most cases.

Beliebteste Artikel Aktuell: