Omicron variant: Major pharmaceutical firms say they can tweak vaccines to fight new Covid strain

Major pharmaceutical firms around the world have said that work is being done to adapt their various vaccines to the new strain of Covid-19, Omicron, which has been designated a “variant of concern” by the WHO.

AstraZeneca has said it is already testing its antibody combination drug against the new variant and is “hopeful” it “will retain efficacy since it comprises two potent antibodies with different and complementary activities against the virus”.

Moderna has said it has already been preparing to adapt its vaccine to any new variants since “early 2021”.

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