A New Covid Vaccine For Omicron Variant? Here Is What Vaccine Makers Are Saying

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has a high number of mutations and scientists have said the current vaccines might be less effective against it.

New Delhi: Days after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified Omicron as a 'variant of concern', several Covid-19 vaccine makers like Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Russia's Gamaleya Institute have started working on adapting their shots to counter the new coronavirus variant.

As per initial studies, scientists have said the Omicron variant might be more transmissible than the highly infectious Delta variant, and current vaccines might be less effective against it.

The Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa, is a cause of concern because of its high number of mutations. Cases have been detected in more than 12 countries, prompting governments to shut their borders and impose travel restrictions again.

"The new Omicron variant has reportedly got over 30 mutations in the spike protein region. This gives it the potential to develop an immune-escape mechanism. Thus the efficacy of vaccines against it needs to be evaluated critically," PTI quoted AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guelria as saying.

Here Is What Vaccine Makers Are Saying On Omicron Variant

Russia's Gamaleya Institute: The Gamaleya Institute in a statement said its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine should be effective against the new Omicron variant. However, Gamaleya said it had already begun developing a new version of the Sputnik vaccine adapted to Omicron.

"The Gamaleya Institute believes Sputnik V and Sputnik Light will neutralise Omicron, as they have the highest efficacy against other mutations," RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement. "If a modification is necessary, a new version of Sputnik V could be ready for mass production in 45 days," it said.

Moderna: US firm Moderna said it would take months to develop and ship an Omicron variant-specific Covid-19 vaccine. In an interview to BBC, Paul Burton, Moderna's chief medical officer, said such a vaccine could only be available in early 2022.

"We should know about the ability of the current vaccine to provide protection in the next couple of weeks. If we have to make a brand new vaccine, I think that’s going to be early 2022 before that's really going to be available in large quantities," Burton told BBC.

Pfizer-BioNTech: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the US firm had already started working on a version of its Covid-19 vaccine specifically targeting the Omicron variant, AFP reported. Pfizer is also testing its current vaccine against the Omicron variant.
"I don't think the result will be the vaccines don't protect. But, the testing could show that existing shots protect less which means that we need to create a new vaccine," AFP quoted Bourla as saying.