A woman is getting her second Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a site in San Antonio, Texas.
The images are of Sergio Flores.
Moderna gained as much as 10% on Monday, extending its two-day gain to more than 30%.
Moderna said it is working on a vaccine that will target the new variant.
Three existing COVID-19 booster candidates are being tested against the new variant.
Moderna's shares surged on Monday after the company announced plans to fight the virus with more vaccines.
Moderna jumped as much as 10% on Monday, extending its two-day rally to more than 30%, as fears of the Omicron variant grew.
The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus has spread to more than a dozen countries after it was first identified in South Africa. Mild symptoms suggest that the variant is less deadly than other versions, though it is thought to be more contagious.
It's not clear how effective current vaccines are in preventing the spread of the virus, but tests are underway to determine the risk of infections among the already vaccine-vaccinated.
Moderna thinks it could develop a vaccine to combat Omicron relatively quickly, thanks to its platform that allows quick adaption to new virus variations. Moderna said a vaccine specifically designed to combat Omicron could be ready by early 2022, and it's also testing a higher dose of its booster shot against the variant.
If we have to make a brand new vaccine, I think it will be early in the future, before we have large quantities of it. Moderna's chief medical officer Paul Burton said that the vaccine can move very fast.
The rally in Moderna that started on Friday ended a steep three-month decline of about 45% in the stock, with shares falling from nearly $500 in August to $275 last week as investors viewed the steady decline in COVID-19 cases as a likely decline in Moderna's vaccine revenues.
Business Insider has an original article.
