By Andrea López Cruzado
Given the appearance of omicron, one of the most recurrent unknowns is whether the vaccines available today protect against this new and worrying variant of the coronavirus.
Although it is necessary to wait several weeks for a definitive answer, it is important to note that
laboratories are moving at a rapid pace
not only to determine in detail the effectiveness of their existing vaccines, but also to create new ones if necessary.
[The first US case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 is detected in California]
What is known so far
The Pfizer Vaccine
In an encouraging statement highlighting the importance of the vaccine as a first defense against the coronavirus, Nitzan Horowitz, Israel's health minister, said on Tuesday that preliminary data showed that
those who had received a booster dose of Pfizer's vaccine
against the coronavirus
coronavirus were well protected against the omicron variant
.
The scientific community closely follows Israel, as it is one of the countries in which the first cases of the new variant have been detected in the world, and also because 90% of its population has already been vaccinated.
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In another sign of the effectiveness of vaccines on the market, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the person identified as the first omicron patient in the United States is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and exhibits only "mild symptoms that they are getting better".
Pfizer, maker of the most widely used vaccine in the United States, says it could have a new omicron vaccine ready in less than 100 days, just as it did when the Beta and Delta variants appeared.
More than 440 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been administered to date in the country.
[It is not true that Fauci considers that the COVID-19 vaccine does not work]
"We will make a third (vaccine) for omicron that we will use only if necessary, if the current one does not work
," Pfizer president Albert Bourla said this week, adding that they have been "preparing for this for months."
Bourla recalled that the use of the vaccines that Pfizer developed for Beta and Delta was not necessary because their original vaccine turned out to be highly effective against those variants, and that could be the case again with omicron.
"I don't think the result (of our tests) is that vaccines don't protect," he said in an interview with the CNBC news network.
"I think the result could be - and we don't know yet - that vaccines are less protective."
Air China crewmembers in protective suits arrive at Los Angeles International Airport on November 30.
In the last week the general alarm has grown over the new variant that is spreading to different countries.
Jae C. Hong / AP
Although preliminary data appears to show that Pfizer's current vaccine is "only slightly less effective in preventing infection with omicron than Delta, and would be just as effective in preventing serious symptoms," the company has not yet confirmed that information.
Moderna's vaccine
Paul Burton, Moderna's chief medical officer, recently said that if necessary, his company would also make a new vaccine to curb the omicron variant.
[False publications attribute high risk of death to childhood COVID-19 vaccine]
"If we have to make a totally new vaccine, I think it will be early 2022," he told the BBC.
In addition, Moderna is already studying two booster doses that he designed anticipating mutations such as those that have arisen with the omicron variant.
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Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC on Monday that
"it is very possible that the efficacy of the vaccine is decreasing,"
but they will have to wait about two weeks to find out if this is the case.
For its part, Moderna has indicated that it would have a new vaccine in early 2022.
The executive explained that depending on how much efficacy falls, Moderna could increase the dose of the current vaccine to better protect people, especially the immunosuppressed and the elderly, who might need a fourth dose. "
Bancel explained that it
will take months to develop and distribute a vaccine that specifically prevents the omicron variant of the coronavirus
.
However, he said Moderna could have a higher dose of the current booster injection ready much sooner, which could help avoid the new variant.
[The omicron variant was already circulating in Europe before being detected in South Africa]
"The highest dose could be done immediately, but it will be months before the specific variant of omicron is ready to ship in massive quantities," he said.
Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, a partner at Pfizer, also highlighted this week the importance of receiving the third booster dose which, he noted, “surely provides a layer of protection against omicron infections of any severity compared to those who have only received two doses ”.
Sahin told the Reuters news agency that the only thing that worried him at this time was the fact that there were people who had not received any vaccines.
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To date, 60% of the population 5 years and older in the United States have been fully vaccinated, but only 21% have received the booster dose.
The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
For its part, the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson also began working on a new version of its vaccine to specifically target omicron.
And although it did not directly refer to the efficacy of its vaccine against the new variant, the company reiterated its confidence in the immune response of the injection “demonstrated to date by the durability and breadth of protection against the variants in clinical studies. ”According to a recent statement.
[New York calls for the use of a mask indoors again due to the threat of the omicron variant]
On the other hand, Pfizer anticipates that omicron will not affect the effectiveness of PAXLOVID, its antiviral against the coronavirus that in preliminary tests has been shown to be highly effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients.
"It was designed to remain effective as the virus mutates," the executive said in another interview on Monday.
The company plans to manufacture 80 million units of PAXLOVID and has reached an agreement with the Government to supply 10 million units of the antiviral starting this year as long as its use is authorized by the FDA.