When will there be a vaccine against Omicron?

There are five COVID vaccines approved in the EU so far. Their manufacturers are also working hard on an option to defend against Omicron, writes DW.

How is their work going and when can we expect results?

BioNTech / Pfizer

On December 8, 2021, the American concern Pfizer published the results of the first laboratory tests, according to which three doses of the vaccine, which is produced jointly with the German company BioNTech, neutralize the Omicron mutation.

“The data show that the level of neutralizing antibodies to Omicron after the third vaccine is 25 times higher than after two.” Meanwhile, since November 25, BioNTech / Pfizer has been working on a new vaccine that protects against Omicron. The assumptions are that the first quantities can be delivered in about 100 days – depending on the decision of the regulators. A statement from the American concern said that the vaccines against Omicron will be ready for delivery in March this year.

Moderna

The head of the American company Moderna Stefan Bansel noted at the end of November that it expects a “tangible regression” in the effectiveness of existing vaccines over the new version of Omicron and suggests that generations of vaccines may need to be changed in 2022.

In December, Moderna published data from a study of 20 volunteers, which aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of booster immunization with this mRNA vaccine against Omicron. As it turns out – in patients with a third dose of vaccine antibodies that neutralize Omicron are 37 times more than in people with only two vaccines.

But the company will also develop a special vaccine against Omicron, as assured by Stefan Bansel. Her trials are expected to begin earlier this year.

Johnson & Johnson

On December 30, 2021, the American manufacturer of vector vaccine against coronavirus Johnson & Johnson published the results of a study from which it is clear that the booster vaccine with their preparation provides 85% protection against severe disease with hospitalization. The study was conducted among health professionals in South Africa and showed that the risk of hospitalization after the booster vaccine decreased during the period in which Omicron became the dominant option in the country.

On November 29, the American company announced that along with the collection of data for Omicron, work has already begun on the development of a new vaccine in line with this mutation.

Astra Zeneca

At the end of 2021, the University of Oxford, which is involved in the development of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, announced that it sees no signs of weakening the protection of the drug when infected with Omicron. At the same time, the university acknowledged that they did not have enough data.

The results of a study published by Oxford University on December 23 show that the level of antibodies to Omicron in booster patients is approximately the same as in Delta

On 22 December, Astra Zeneca announced that it had started working with Oxford University to develop a vaccine in line with the Omicron variant.

Novavax

On December 22, just two days after the European Medicines Agency approved the Novavax vaccine, Germany ordered the first four million doses of the drug. According to the manufacturer, the clinically proven effectiveness of this vaccine is about 90 percent. But these data are from the middle of the year, ie. before the advent of Omicron.

According to immunologist Carsten Vacl, Novavax will need to be changed to protect against Omicron. As the corresponding optimization of the starting preparation will be more complex than that of the manufacturers of mRNA vaccines.

For its part, the Novavax concern announced in December, that he had begun developing a vaccine against Omicron. The production of this preparation is planned to start this month.