The new COVID-19 variant Omicron, which has emerged in South Africa recently, has become one of the things the world is most curious about about the pandemic. Because the variant is new, we do not know its effects yet. In addition, although the structure of the variant provides the opinion that it is the worst variant, doctors say that the symptoms seen for now are mild.
All aside, strong or not, the variant is spreading pretty fast. This makes it questionable whether the currently used COVID-19 vaccines are strong against Omicron. BioNTech and Pfizer, which developed one of these vaccines, once again explain the path to be followed in this regard with their new explanations.
Requirement of new vaccine still unknown
German biotechnology company BioNTech, which has recently made statements about the Omicron variant, stated that the investigations on the variant are still ongoing. Stating that it is not yet known whether the new vaccine is necessary, the company has started to adapt the vaccine for Omicron, just in case, according to the statements.
The US company Pfizer, which is a partner with BioNTech in vaccine production, supported these statements and stated that a new draft was prepared for the Omicron vaccine. The CEO of the company, Albert Bourla, used the following statements in the continuation of his statements: “We have created a new draft for the development of a new vaccine for the Omicron variant. It may be necessary to regularly vaccinate every year in the fight against COVID-19. If a new vaccine is needed, it will come from the new vaccine. We will produce about 4 billion doses annually.”
Laboratory tests of the Omicron variant will find results within 2 weeks. One of the possibilities that the variant is really strong, or not quite as strong as the symptoms suggest for now, will be confirmed. In line with these results, it will be clear whether a new vaccine is needed, whether a new vaccine will be produced or an update to the existing vaccine will be made.
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