Pfizers booster shot against omicron will be ready by March: CEO

Pharmaceutical
company Pfizer on Monday said they are expecting a COVID-19 vaccine targeting
the omicron variant of coronavirus to be ready in March.

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According
to CNBC, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said that Pfizer has
already started producing doses as several governments expressed interest to
acquire vaccine doses against the omicron variant. Countries across the world
are trying hard to curb the spread of the variant by inoculating a large number
of people with booster doses. 

“This
vaccine will be ready in March,” Bourla told the network. “I don’t
know if we will need it. I don’t know if and how it will be used.”

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Bourla also
said that the booster shot after two doses of vaccine against COVID-19 will
provide “reasonable” protection against serious health effects from
omicron.

But it is
learnt that a vaccine focused directly on the omicron variant would also guard
against breakthrough infections of a strain that has proven highly contagious
but has also resulted in many mild or asymptomatic cases.

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In another
interview with CNBC, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the company working on
developing a booster shot that is capable of fighting out omicron and other
variants of the virus that may emerge in 2022.

“We
are discussing with public health leaders around the world to decide what we
think is the best strategy for a potential booster for the fall of 2022,”
Bancel told the network. “We need to be careful to try to stay ahead of a
virus and not behind the virus.”

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India,
meanwhile, started administering COVID-19 booster shots as a precautionary
measure to healthcare and other front-line workers from January 10.

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India
recorded 1,79,723 new coronavirus infections, taking the country’s total tally
of COVID-19 cases to 3,57,07,727, while the active cases increased to 7,23,619,
according to the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am.