The total doses administered now stand at 24.8 million
coronavirus2 days ago
Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he expected the roll-out of a vaccine specifically against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus would be delayed for months, until autumn.
Speaking as he went into a Brussels meeting of EU health ministers, Lauterbach said: “September could be the target month.”
The EU relies mostly on mRNA Covid vaccines, particularly the one developed jointly by German firm BioNTech with US giant Pfizer.
The delivery of Omicron-specific vaccines had been expected early this year.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla had said in January his company would have one available in March. Then BioNTech founder Ugur Sahin said last month he expected it to be available in April or May.
While the European Union has seen Covid hospitalisations and deaths decline after a successful vaccination programme, confirmed new cases have been rising again, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Omicron, which was first detected in southern Africa in November last year and rapidly spread globally, is now the dominant variant, accounting for almost all new cases.
It has mutations allowing it to dodge some of the defences generated by current vaccines and from previous infections, and comes in two main sub-lineages: BA.1 and BA.2, with the latter gaining ground.
ALSO READ:
While Covid vaccines developed for previous strains have shown they largely stave off serious health consequences, they have proved more muted in preventing infections in the first place.
That factor has become more important given that the potency of current vaccines wanes after a few months, which has prompted booster campaigns.
BioNTech/Pfizer and mRNA rival Moderna both said in late January they had launched clinical trials of Omicron-specific vaccines.
While the results are yet to be published, early studies on animals suggest they “offer no advantage over a third dose of current vaccines,” according to an article in the science journal Nature last month.
One of the studies, on eight rhesus macaques, found that boosters from both original Covid vaccines and from Omicron-specific ones improved antibody response, but with no clear advantage for the latter.
The total doses administered now stand at 24.8 million
coronavirus2 days ago
The Hope Consortium has delivered millions of vaccines from the point of manufacture to the point of immunisation
coronavirus2 days ago
Over 160 million PCR tests have been conducted in the country so far
coronavirus2 days ago
Partners exhibited excellence and professionalism in their cooperation: Major General Ahmed Mohamed Rafie
coronavirus2 days ago
The curbs and endless mass testing imposed on China’s capital have unsettled its economy
coronavirus2 days ago
The ongoing wave, declared last week, has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure and a potential food crisis
coronavirus2 days ago
The total doses administered now stand at 24.8 million
coronavirus3 days ago
Total active cases stand at 13,867
coronavirus3 days ago