SHOT IN THE DARK
Jab protection ‘could be EIGHT TIMES lower against Omicron variant’, Moderna boss warns
PROTECTION gained from Covid vaccines could be eight times lower against the Omicron variant, the chief of Moderna has warned.
Millions of vaccines have been rolled across across the UK, including those from Moderna.
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Now its CEO, Stephane Bancel has said that vaccine efficacy could go down due to the mutations that the strain has.
Vaccines that are already been rolled out are also being topped up with boosters to give the most protection.
Studies have shown that boosters give over 90 per cent protection against symptomatic Covid-19 in adults over 50.
Mr Bancel said Moderna could have an updated version of its jab within 60 to 90 days if it needed to be tweaked to deal with Omicron.
Experts at the University of Oxford, which developed the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab said it could "rapidly update" its vaccine "if it should be necessary".
As more cases of Omicron continue to be detected, the Government has put in measures to try and curb the spread early.
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It was last night announced that Brits aged 18-39 would be invited for their booster vaccines and face masks and covering are now once again mandatory in shops and on public transport.
Mr Bancel said that it would be at least two weeks before scientists had clarity on exactly how dangerous Omicron might be.
He explained that experts at Modern believe this variant is "much more infectious" than others.
He added: "I don’t believe many people would have predicted such a big jump in evolution in one variant.
"If you look at the new virus it has the delta mutation, it has the beta mutation, and many more, 32 mutations.
"It’s hard to know, are we going to lose 5x or 8x of the antibody levels. We all need to be patient and see the data", he told CNBC's show.
He added that the experts believe the variant might already be present in most countries after it was first detected in South Africa.
"We anticipated that there will be a loss of vaccine efficacy to protect from disease.
"Vaccines provide you with a soup of antibodies and some will still be protective", he added.
Scientists will have to wait to find out more about the virus and one of the key things is vaccine efficacy and what the impact of the new variant on the vaccine will have.
One expert today said that there should be some 'initial results' from testing samples at Porton Down in the next few days.
Prof Eleanor Riley, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease, The University of Edinburgh said the impact on hospitalisation and death from Omicron is likely to be 'much less severe'.
She explained: "Immunity to severe disease is mediated by T cells as well as antibodies and these are less susceptible than antibodies to simple mutations.
“But we won’t really know for a few weeks until there are enough cases of omicron infection to see what the hospitalisation rate is and who is being hospitalised (age, vaccination status etc.). This data will likely come first from Southern Africa where the virus seems to be most prevalent currently.
“We can assess in the lab how susceptible omicron is to neutralisation by vaccine-induced antibodies; this correlates very well with how good the antibodies are at preventing infection."
'UNFORTUNATE TIMING'
Scientists think the new strain is much more transmissible and cases in South Africa, where it was first detected have climbed by 9,900 per cent in the last three weeks.
Doctors there have reported mild symptoms in positive cases but they are predominantly younger people.
Care minister Gillian Keegan said: "The boosters will help, and we're just trying to deal with this unknown at the moment.
"We very much hope that we we have a Christmas this year, we've had an awful experience last year."
She said the chances of being forced to isolate over the festive period were "pretty low" but the new variant "is unfortunate timing from that perspective".
And she added: "Keep your Christmas plans in place, but of course we will have to deal with it as the scientists get more information to us."
Dr Peter English, Retired Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Former Editor of Vaccines in Practice, past Chair of the BMA Public Health Medicine Committee said it might be worth developing other vaccines as a 'precaution'.
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He said: "We know that the vaccines have held up pretty well against variants, with only a slight drop in efficacy – particularly of a single dose – against the delta strain. That is somewhat reassuring, but we cannot rely on it.
“It is certainly worthwhile developing and rolling out variant modified vaccines, as a precaution, and because it might improve efficacy against existing, as well as new strains, as they arise.”
UK daily Covid deaths lowest in 7 weeks with 35 fatalities & cases rise by 42k in a day amid fears of Omicron spread
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