BioNTech still needs to identify the effectiveness of the vaccine against the new COVID-19 variant that emerged in South Africa known as Omicron. the results will soon be released two weeks from now.
FILE PHOTO: A vial labeled with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
BioNTech is Responding to the New Variant
BioNTech is a German biotechnology company that develops the Pfizer vaccine to fight against coronavirus. The BioNTech spokesperson established a statement on Reuters. “We are waiting for more specific data entry from the lab result in approximately two weeks. These data are expected to provide more information regarding the new omicron variant whether it could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads rapidly around the globe.”
Furthermore, the German company is still studying the Omicron variant to find out if the vaccine if would work in two weeks.
Pfizer and BioNTech are already speeding up in advance months ago to be able to improve the mRNA vaccine within six weeks and the initial shipment per batch is within 100 days interval in the event of an escape variant. Scientists are still digging into the depths of the variant, and whether it can evade immune responses triggered by vaccines.
Pfizer-BioNTech is Confident Towards the New Variant
BioNTech’s CEO and co-founder said that he is confident to their COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the new variant of the novel coronavirus that is rapidly infecting people across London and southern England.
The new Omicron variant has been described by U.K. health officials as the “most significant” variant identified and citing more mutations in the spike protein of the virus. Human immune systems make a diverse of antibodies that desire in several forms in places on the spike, so even if one bit of the spike changes, a vaccine will still typically work well. Furthermore, The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is designed to target those spike proteins and the parts of the virus where mutations occur.
