Pfizer Executive Expects Vaccine to Hold Up to Omicron
Pfizer Inc. expects its Covid-19 vaccine to hold up against the omicron variant
(Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc. expects its Covid-19 vaccine to hold up against the omicron variant, an executive said, and data on how well it protects should be available within two to three weeks.
“We don’t expect that there will be a significant drop in effectiveness,” Ralf Rene Reinert, vice president of vaccines for international developed markets, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “But again, this is speculation. We will check this. We will have the data in the next couple of weeks.”
A growing chorus of companies and public-health officials have sought to reassure the public about vaccines even as scientists rush to answer open questions about omicron’s severity, transmissibility and potential ability to evade current treatments. The number of mutations clustered on the variant’s spike protein, which the virus uses to lever its way into cells, has fueled worries around the world.
Pfizer has already started working on new versions of its vaccine twice, with the emergence of the beta and delta variants, and concluded both times that the original shot provided good protection, Reinert said. Now its scientists will evaluate whether that’s the case for omicron.
“It’s not that we start from scratch,” Reinert said. “We know what we have to do.”
In the meantime, it’s important to continue with the booster program, according to Reinert. Pfizer is conducting tests to see whether antibodies in the blood of vaccinated people can neutralize the virus, even as it screens efficacy data to look for breakthrough cases of omicron, he said.
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