Moderna said it might release an updated COVID-19 vaccine to fight the new Omicron variant.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said on the "Andrew Marr Show" that they should know about the vaccine's ability to protect in the next couple of weeks.
"If we have to make a brand new vaccine, I think that's going to be early 2022, before that's really going to be available in large quantities," Burton said.
The Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, could spread easily across the world, as scientists and health officials warn. It has spread to several other countries, including Israel and Belgium, prompting travel restrictions across Europe, Asia, and North America. Two cases of the variant have been found in the UK. Dr. Anthony Fauci said it's likely to have already arrived here.
The variant has multiple changes that make it easier to evade the antibodies that developed after receiving a vaccine. The variant could spread easily among people who are vaccine free.
The World Health Organization has labeled Omicron a "variant of concern-sars-cov-2-variant-of-concern." The last one to receive the label was Delta, the variant that surged all summer.
It's not clear if existing COVID-19 vaccines will protect against the variant. The vaccine manufacturers are considering their options.
Moderna said in a Friday news release that it is testing its current vaccine against the Omicron variant.
Moderna has advanced a comprehensive strategy to anticipate new variant of concern. The company has demonstrated the ability to advance new candidates to clinical testing in 60 to 90 days.
If Omicron is found to be resistant to the current vaccine, Pfizer will be able to make and distribute an updated version of it within 100 days. The company expects to know within two weeks if the variant is resistant to its current vaccine, a company spokesman told the news agency.
In the event of an escape variant, initial batches of the vaccine will be shipped within 100 days.
The vaccine against the Omicron variant is being tested.
