The pitfalls of the new virus variant

Dusseldorf The heads of the two leading vaccine manufacturers assessed the dangers of the new virus mutation Omikron differently on Wednesday. The head of the US company Moderna assumes that the vaccines at hand will be far less effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. An adapted vaccine will be necessary, said Stéphane Bancel of the “Financial Times” (“FT”). But it will take months before the manufacturers can manufacture and deliver this on a large scale.

Next to Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna is the second major manufacturer of approved mRNA vaccines against the coronavirus. Bancel comes to his skeptical assessment after consultations with researchers inside and outside the company. “All the scientists I have spoken to are of the opinion, ‘This doesn’t look good’.”