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COVID-19: WHO says more research is needed on the efficacy of omicron vaccines

The World Health Organization (WHO) said more research is needed to find out whether current COVID-19 vaccines provide adequate protection against the highly contagious omicron variant, even as manufacturers are already developing vaccines from Next Generation.

The latest technical report from the world health agency aims to answer some of the big pending questions about the heavily mutated variant that first appeared in November, such as its severity, its transmissibility and its ability to evade vaccines.

It also sets priorities for its member states. But on one of the key questions, whether a new omicron-specific vaccine is needed now, the UN agency did not offer an immediate answer.

Further research is needed to better understand omicron’s immune escape potential against vaccine-induced immunity and infections, and omicron’s specific responses to vaccines.“, He said.

A WHO official had previously said that this issue requires a “global coordination”And that manufacturers should not be left to decide alone. Some vaccine manufacturers are already developing next-generation injections against the omicron variant first detected in Africa and Hong Kong.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Monday that a redesigned COVID-19 vaccine that specifically targets the omicron variant of the coronavirus will likely be needed, as well as that his company could have an injection ready for deployment in March.

Pharmaceutical Moderna is also working on a vaccine tailored to the omicron variant of the coronavirus, but it is unlikely to be available in the next two months.

A WHO technical group has met in recent weeks to study the composition of the vaccine and is expected to make a new statement on Tuesday, according to a WHO spokesperson.

Additional data on the efficacy of the omicron vaccine and the need for vaccines tailored to the variant will be available in the coming weeks, the WHO said in the statement. The agency urged countries and partners to study the efficacy and impact of the vaccine.

The WHO said early data suggest that homologous and heterologous booster doses increase the efficacy of the vaccine against omicron infection and symptomatic disease compared to the delta variant, but a study has shown decreased efficacy of the booster dose for symptomatic disease caused by omicron.

An analysis by the UK Health Safety Agency has shown that booster doses provide high levels of protection to older people against severe illness caused by the omicron variant, but the duration of protection against mild symptomatic infection is longer. brief and drops to about 30% at three months.

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