The British scientist who led the research underpinning AstraZeneca’s coronavirus jab said Saturday a new vaccine could be developed against the emerging Omicron variant “very rapidly” if needed. Professor Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, also said existing vaccines should work against the new strain, but that would only become apparent after more research in the coming weeks. The United States and European countries have followed suit on the restrictions, and the variant has been confirmed in Belgium. The UK-based drugs company said it was “already conducting research in locations where the variant has been identified”. Vaccine makers Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax have also said they are confident of being able to combat the Omicron strain.

Source: Punch November 27, 2021 20:41 UTC