When confronting an onslaught of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, COVID-19 vaccine makers such as Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) have tested tweaked versions of their vaccines but ultimately decided that they were unnecessary.
Signs are growing that vaccines developed based on the original strain of the novel coronavirus will struggle to offer durable protection against the omicron variant.
A World Health Organization (WHO) technical advisory group concluded that current COVID-19 vaccines might require modification but acknowledged that more research is needed.
In an interim statement, the independent group also concluded that “a vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable.”
The body also urged that governments worldwide ramp up the distribution of current COVID-19 vaccines.
The WHO advisory panel also predicted there were multiple pathways for drug…