‘Omicron’ Sounds the Alarm Bells; Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca Spring Into Action

As many countries have imposed travel restrictions from African countries and regions where the new coronavirus variant has been detected due to concerns about the spread of a new strain of the virus, scientists are also working to learn more about the variant known as ‘Omicron’.

Scientists want to know whether existing vaccines can provide protection against this variant or whether modifications to the vaccine structure are necessary.

The ‘Omicron’ variant has 50 mutations, with over 30 of these mutations occurring in the ‘spike’ protein. This is the same protein that the virus uses to infect cells, and vaccines train the immune system to recognize and attack it.

What has been determined so far is that the new variant has higher transmissibility compared to previous variants due to having more mutations, so it may be able to evade the immune system’s response—after natural infection and vaccination.

Scientists say that vaccines remain the most powerful tool for reducing the likelihood of severe illness and death from coronavirus, but the need for booster doses has become increasingly pressing.

Two companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have undertaken efforts to modify the structure of their vaccines and adapt them to the new and contagious virus variant.

Vaccines based on ‘mRNA’ technology have the ability to be quickly modified and produced.

Jerica Pitts, a spokesperson for Pfizer, told the New York Times that the company is able to adapt its current vaccines to new variants within six weeks and deliver the first shipment of modified vaccines within 100 days.

Dr. Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, also says that Moderna scientists immediately got to work after learning about the ‘Omicron’ variant and can adapt their vaccine to the new variant within two months, and if necessary, obtain the results of clinical trials within three months.

Dr. Bancel called the new variant “the Frankenstein of all possible scenarios” and said it has sounded all the alarm bells.

Both Pfizer and Moderna also plan to measure the impact of booster doses in providing protection against the new virus variant. Although tests have shown that the level of antibodies increases significantly after a booster injection, some experts believe they may not be sufficient to completely neutralize the Omicron variant.

Unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the AstraZeneca vaccine uses a modified harmless virus as a vehicle to deliver genetic information to help the body develop immunity against similar future infections.

AstraZeneca has also said that it is able to prepare the formula for its new vaccines within a few days, but production takes longer.

Clinical trials of modified vaccines are usually conducted on a smaller scale.

Source: Voice of America