![]() State of play: Pfizer and Moderna have said they are working on Omicron-specific versions of their COVID vaccines. "We need Operation Warp Speed - that kind of efficiency and focused coordinated effort on therapeutics, surveillance and other areas to address COVID," said Zeke Emanuel, another member of the transition team.And so the virus is going to continue changing, and we can't have a stagnant vaccine," said Rick Bright, former Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority director and a member of President Biden’s coronavirus transition team. What they're saying: "As the virus moves forward, our vaccine has been stagnant. But its transmissibility, ability to evade some immune protection and the ineffectiveness of some existing treatments against it have laid bare how much trouble the world would be in if an equally transmissible but deadlier variant came along.The big picture: As much havoc as it caused, the world got somewhat lucky with the Omicron variant: It causes less severe disease than other variants - likely because it doesn't replicate as well in the lungs - and existing immune protection works well against hospitalization and death. ![]() Why it matters: The virus will continue to evolve, potentially in a way that further escapes vaccine protection, and the best way to prevent more global disruptions to everyday life is to have tools ready to combat whatever comes next. Omicron's blitz around the world has underscored the need for a new arsenal of COVID vaccines and therapeutics, experts say - and that may require an effort akin to Operation Warp Speed 2.0. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |