Vaccine developers are quick to respond while the world is tense over the appearance of the feared mutant ‘Omicron’ (Ο) of Corona 19.
As the possibility of omicron mutations neutralizing the immunity formed by existing vaccines has been raised, vaccine developers are analyzing the mutations and rushing to develop vaccines to respond to them.
Moderna said in a statement on the 26th (local time) that it had started developing a booster shot in response to ‘Omicron’ (Ο), a new strain of Corona 19 concern.
“The omicron mutation has been raising concerns for several days,” Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stefan Bansel said in a statement released today.
Moderna has three methods: increasing the dose of an existing vaccine, developing a ‘multivalent vaccine’ that can respond to existing pathogens and new mutations at once, and developing a new vaccine that directly responds to Omicron He explained that the effect is being studied.
The company added that it usually takes 60 to 90 days for the first experimental vaccine to be made.
Novavax, a US pharmaceutical company, also issued a statement on the same day, saying that it has begun developing a vaccine targeting the omicron mutation.
“We will continue to work to respond to the latest mutations and the ongoing evolution of the coronavirus,” he said.
In response, Novavax said that the technology used in existing coronavirus vaccines could be quickly applied to coronavirus mutations and that “we expect our vaccine to provide protection against new mutations.”
American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) also announced that it is testing the effectiveness of a vaccine against the new mutation.
J&J said in a statement that it is closely monitoring Omicron, which carries the spike protein mutation, and that it is already testing the effectiveness of a vaccine against Omicron.
BioNtech, which jointly developed the vaccine with Pfizer, also said, “If necessary, we can ship a new vaccine tailored to a new mutant within 100 days.”
About Omicron, Biontech added, “Data such as whether it is a mutant that evades vaccine immunity and whether our vaccine needs to be modified will be available through research within two weeks.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) held an expert meeting on the same day and classified the new coronavirus mutation ‘B.1.1.529’ as a ‘variant of concern’ and named it Omicron.
Omicron was discovered in the African country of Botswana and is spreading in South Africa.
The virus has 32 mutations in its ‘spike protein’, raising concerns that it will be highly contagious.
/yunhap news
