Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday launched a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine that targets the Covid omicron variant, as concerns grow that the current shots aren’t holding up against infections and mild illness caused by the strain discovered just over two months ago.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC earlier this month that the company will have a vaccine that targets omicron ready by March. The vaccine will also target the other Covid variants that are circulating, Bourla said.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said there’s growing data indicating that the efficacy of the current vaccine against infection and mild-to-moderate disease from omicron is waning more rapidly compared with prior strains of the virus. The goal is to develop a vaccine that provides durable protection against omicron, Sahin said in a statement Tuesday.
Read more at CNBC.