Reuters reports that the vaccine maker said the decision to focus on the current vaccine, mRNA-1273, was driven in part by how quickly the recently discovered variant is spreading. The company still plans to develop a vaccine specifically to protect against Omicron, which it hopes to advance into clinical trials early next year.
"What we have available right now is 1273," Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna's Chief Medical Officer, said in an interview. "It's highly effective, and it's extremely safe. I think it will protect people through the coming holiday period and through these winter months, when we're going to see the most severe pressure of Omicron."
The data, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, tested blood from people who had received the vaccine against a pseudovirus engineered to resemble the Omicron variant. It is similar to data discussed last by top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci
~ European bourses seeing the mildest of a bid on this news.
