U.S. health officials knew it was a matter of time before the variant reached the U.S. Dr. Anthony Fauci said vaccinations can provide spillover immunity, even if it doesn’t target the specific variant.
So guess who will do well? Yep, Pfizer and Moderna. They are biotech companies almost totally dependent on the covid vaccines and it is in their best interests to keep this gig rolling.
As usual, the government’s response to the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention modified its booster recommendation. Now, everyone aged 18 and older is being told to get a booster shot, whether six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series or two months after their initial J&J vaccine.
The CDC recommendation comes as scientists rush to understand the new COVID variant and countries restrict travel to guard against another wave of the disease. Pfizer said it is investigating the new strain and will create a modified version of its vaccine if needed. This is despite the loud and clear information from South Africa that this strain – as with all new variants – is mild.
South African Omicron variant. Straight from the horses mouth in ….. South Africa. pic.twitter.com/DxOSzSk4d9
— Anonymous UK Citizen (@AnonCitizenUK) December 1, 2021
On Nov. 26, Moderna announced that it would “rapidly advance” a new variant-specific vaccine candidate. According to the announcement, the vaccine manufacturer has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to create and advance new vaccine candidates to a clinical trial testing phase in around 60 to 90 days, says Bloomberg.
The U.K. has agreed to buy an additional 114 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from Moderna Inc. and the partnership of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to secure the country’s supplies following the emergence of the omicron variant. The new contracts, which were accelerated due to the new coronavirus strain and are for delivery in 2022 and 2023, include access to modified vaccines if they’re needed to tackle.