Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson Develop Vaccines Against Omicron

The companies (Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna) announced that they have started work on a new version of the vaccine against Corona (Covid-19) targeting the mutant Omicron, in the event that vaccines are not effective in protecting against this new version of the virus.

The companies "Pfizer" and "Johnson & Johnson" announced Monday that they, like their competitor Moderna, have begun work on a new version of their anti-Corona vaccine targeting the mutant Omicron in the event that their vaccines are not effective in protecting against this new version of the virus.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty" about the new mutant detected in South Africa and described by the World Health Organization as "disturbing," Albert Burla, president of Pfizer, said in an interview with US television network "CNBC".

He added, "We will know the most important thing that we need to know within a few weeks," noting that experiments are needed to test the effectiveness of the current vaccine developed by his company in cooperation with Biontech.

He explained, "If it turns out that the (current) vaccine is less effective and we need to develop a new one, we started working on it on Friday. We have completed the first DNA model, which will be the first stage in developing a new vaccine."

Pfizer previously created two new versions of its vaccine to counter the delta and beta mutant, but they were not used.

Borla stressed that if the need arises, "we will have a serious vaccine within 95 days."

He stressed that his company has the capabilities when needed, to produce four billion doses next year.

On Friday, Moderna announced its intention to develop a booster dose of the vaccine designed to protect against the Omicron mutant.

In turn, Johnson & Johnson announced that it is "in the process of evaluating the effectiveness of its anti-Covid-19 vaccine against mutant mutants," including Omicron.

The company added in a statement that it is simultaneously working on the production of "a vaccine that specifically targets Omicron, and will develop it as necessary."

The statement quoted Mathai Mamin, who is responsible for research at Johnson & Johnson's company, Janssen, which developed the vaccine against Covid-19, as saying that the company "remains confident" of the ability of its current single-dose vaccine to provide an immune response against various variants.

But Mamen confirmed at the same time that Johnson & Johnson can "quickly" conduct clinical trials on the new version of the vaccine if necessary.

Borla confirmed that he is "very confident" of the currently distributed vaccine, "because we were able to reach the good mixture from the beginning."

Regarding the anti-Covid-19 drug, Borla said that the pill that Pfizer developed to treat the disease and showed an 89% effectiveness to avoid hospitalization or death during clinical trials, was “developed with the idea” that mutants of the virus may appear.

He said, "I am very, very confident in the ability of (the drug) to confront all the mutant, including the Omicron mutant."

He continued, "We must remember (...) that the situation is different when you have treatment," which allows for a decrease in the proportion of people infected with Covid-19 who are hospitalized from ten to only one person.