Pfizer’s CEO reported that a COVID-19 vaccine developed for the Omicron variant will be ready in March, and said the company has already started producing doses. However, he added that it is still unclear whether the vaccine will need to be administered as a fourth dose.
“This vaccine will be available in March,” Pfizer president and CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Monday.
Data from scientists in the UK show that the super-infectious variant of Omicron can greatly bypass immunity gained from previous infection or two vaccine doses. However, taking a “reminder dose” can significantly boost immunity, and the third dose can increase the level of protection against symptomatic Omicron by up to 80 percent.
The vaccine has been tweaked to make it more effective at fighting newer variants of SARS-CoV-2, Bourla said. He added that at this time it is unclear whether an Omicron vaccine is needed or how it will be used. He also noted that it’s currently unclear whether a fourth dose would work, but more data could change that.
On the other hand, Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said that the company is working on a booster vaccine targeting Omicron recently, and that he believes people will need boosters by the fall of 2022, as antibodies from the vaccine dwindle.
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