WHO Says Updated Covid Vaccines For Omicron May Be Necessary
Public health officials have warned that new variants of the Covid-19 virus could prove more deadly than previous strains.
(Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization said updated Covid-19 vaccines for the highly transmissible omicron variant may be warranted.
The Geneva-based global health group said in a statement Friday that “the potential benefit of omicron updated vaccines should be studied,” as research indicates a “modified Covid-19 vaccine composition may be warranted to broaden immune protection.”
The statement is not a policy recommendation, the WHO said.
The omicron variant and a series of sub-strains have turbo-charged the spread of Covid-19, proving highly transmissible even among those fully vaccinated and boosted. However, the variant has proved less deadly than previous strains with fewer hospitalizations and deaths.
Public health officials have warned that new variants of the Covid-19 virus could prove more deadly than previous strains.
The WHO said its Technical Advisory Group on vaccine composition suggests “as a booster dose, an omicron-specific monovalent vaccine may elicit greater breadth in the immune response” than those based on the the initial version of the virus.
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