Moderna to develop booster shot for new variant of COVID-19, Pfizer/BioNTech to rework on vaccine
Amid the entry of a newly identified and highly transmissible COVID-19 'variant of concern', US pharmaceutical company Moderna on Friday said that it will develop a booster shot against the new Omicron variant. Moderna is working on three strategies to deal with the threat of the new variant.
Besides developing booster shots, Moderna is also contemplating a higher dose of its existing vaccine. "The mutations in the Omicron variant are concerning and for several days, we have been moving as fast as possible to execute our strategy to address this variant," said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.
The company said that in 2020-2021 it has already included booster doses for the Delta and Beta variants. The 'virus of concern' first detected in South Africa has been named 'Omicron' by an advisory panel of the World Health Organisation (WHO). It derives its name under the Greek-letter system.
The new variant which was first detected in Botswana has spread from South Africa to Europe and Asia with Belgium detecting the first case in the country. One case was reported in Hong Kong and one in Israel where a person returning from Malawi was found to be infected with the new strain of the virus.
Meanwhile, BioNTech SE which is the maker of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine said on Friday that it expects more data on the new variant detected in South Africa within two weeks to help determine whether its vaccine produced with partner Pfizer Inc would have to be reworked.
Source : DNA India
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