WHO tasks vaccine makers to adjust Covid-19 jabs to contain new Omicron variant

Makers of COVID-19 vaccines should gear up for the “likelihood” of needing to adjust their products to protect against the Omicron variant, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) spokesperson has said.

Christian Lindmeier, speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva, said the agency was still studying the transmissibility and severity of the new variant, first reported in Southern Africa.

“It is very recommendable that vaccine manufacturers already start planning ahead and plan for the likelihood of having to adjust the existing vaccine,” Lindmeier said on Friday. “That’s good not just to wait until the final alarm bell rings,” he added.

German company BioNTech should be able to adapt its coronavirus vaccine relatively quickly in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin has said.

Sahin also said that vaccines should continue to provide protection against severe disease despite mutations in the virus.