Not much is known about the omicron mutation in the coronavirus. Opinions are already divided on the question of whether the vaccination provides reliable protection.
There is obviously disagreement among the pharmaceutical companies about how well and whether the vaccines that have been approved to date protect against the corona mutation Omikron. Moderna boss Stéphane Blancel had doubted the effect in the “Financial Times”. He told Baltt that he was assuming a “considerable decrease” in the protective effect.
Biontech boss Ugur Sahin expressed himself completely differently. He was confident that corona vaccines will also protect against serious disease progression in the case of Omikron and the following other virus variants. Omikron is not the first Corona variant that has emerged, said Sahin on Tuesday evening in Mainz before a prize was awarded to him and his wife.
Biontech is already developing a vaccine against further mutations
In addition to the ongoing laboratory tests to investigate the new Corona variant, the Mainz vaccine manufacturer is also working on the development of an adapted vaccine – preventively in the event that it might become necessary. First interim results are not yet available, said the company boss.
Biontech co-founder Özlem Türeci said that there will be pandemics again and again in the future – perhaps even more frequently due to the global increase in mobility. “The best way to prepare for this is practice,” she said. The world has learned a lot in dealing with the corona pandemic – on a scientific, political and social level. The couple was awarded the Turkish Aydin Dogan Foundation’s prize for developing the corona vaccine on Tuesday evening.
Omikron is significantly more contagious than previous variants
The new coronavirus variant, to which the World Health Organization (WHO) assigned the Greek letter omicron, was reported from South Africa last Thursday. The WHO classifies the pathogen as “worrying” and warns of a “very high” global risk. In South Africa, experts expect the number of cases to explode.
In Europe in particular, Omikron already seems to be in circulation. In Scotland, six confirmed cases are believed to be the result of an in-country transmission rather than overseas travel. In the Netherlands, the authorities detected the new pathogen in test samples that were around ten days old. In these cases, it is so far unclear whether the infected were in southern Africa. A man who tested positive for Omikron in Germany had already entered South Africa on November 21.
Statistics from South Africa indicate that the Omikron variant is significantly more contagious than previous variants. According to assessments by South African doctors, the course of the disease could generally be milder than with previous variants. According to the WHO, no deaths related to the Omikron variant have been reported so far.
The vaccine manufacturers Moderna, Biontech and Pfizer as well as the supporters of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, which has not yet been approved in the EU, have already announced that they will test their vaccines and, if necessary, develop a vaccine adapted to the Omikron variant. According to Moderna boss Bancel, however, this should take a few months.
Source From: Stern
