According to experts, the omicron variant of the corona virus will further fuel the fourth wave of the pandemic. Biontech is already working on the antidote.
Frankfurt – The fourth corona wave still has the country firmly under control. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports an increase in the seven-day incidence. Now the vaccine manufacturer Biontech has announced an adaptation of its agent to the new virus variant Omikron.
Biontech’s managing director Ugur Sahin informed the Reuters news agency on Friday (December 3rd, 2021) in a conference that the next few weeks will be decisive for his company: How urgently an upgrade of the previous vaccine is necessary depends on how good the previous vaccination against Omikron works.
Corona update: Biontech can deliver Omicron version of vaccine within 100 days
The data required for this analysis are currently still being collected. A vaccine tailored to the latest virus variants could in principle be completed within 100 days, Sahin told Reuters. Preparations are already under way.
He is also not surprised that a new corona vaccine could be necessary. In principle, this was to be expected. However, he was amazed at the speed with which such a strong mutation occurred and which made an upgrade of the vaccine necessary.
Corona variant Omikron: Developed earlier than expected
“I had expected it would only come within the next year – and now it is with us,” said Sahin. In his opinion, these virus mutations make it likely that an annual vaccination against the corona virus will become the norm.
In general, however, it can be assumed that vaccination with the previous vaccine will still make sense. Even if the effect against the omicron variant were to be reduced, the vaccine would in all probability still ensure a milder course of the disease. Biontech / Pfizer jointly produced one of the first corona vaccines, which has now been inoculated over two billion times. (Reuters / na)
