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No Need To Adapt Pfizer Vaccine For COVID-19 Variants, Says BioNTech Chief

  The first generation vaccine developed by BioNTech-Pfizer works against coronavirus variants such as the Delta strain and does not need to be modified for … Continue reading No Need To Adapt Pfizer Vaccine For COVID-19 Variants, Says BioNTech Chief


In this file photo taken on November 23, 2020 is pictured a bottle reading “Vaccine Covid-19” next to US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech logos on November 23, 2020. Pharma companies Pfizer and BioNTech on December 1, 2020 filed for European approval for their coronavirus vaccine, following in the footsteps of competitor Moderna, while the OECD predicted the world economy would bounce back to pre-pandemic levels by late 2021. JOEL SAGET / AFP
File: JOEL SAGET / AFP

 

The first generation vaccine developed by BioNTech-Pfizer works against coronavirus variants such as the Delta strain and does not need to be modified for the moment, the chief executive of German company BioNTech said Monday.

“It is quite possible that in the next six to 12 months, further variants will emerge and that would require adaptation of the vaccine but it is at the moment not yet the case,” Ugur Sahin told journalists.

A decision to make a switch should be made only if it is clear that the vaccine failed to work or is only offering sub-par protection against the virus.

The fast-changing situation meant that getting the timing for the change right was also crucial.

“Making a decision at the moment might turn out to be wrong in three or six months if another variant is dominating. Therefore the timing of the decision must be appropriate,” he said.

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“At the moment we have a good understanding that the booster vaccine with the parental strain is completely sufficient,” stressed Sahin.

BioNTech’s partner Pfizer has also repeatedly amplified the case for booster shots amid the latest wave of infections.

Countries including France and Germany have said they will begin offering the additional shot to the elderly and the most vulnerable from September.

BioNTech-Pfizer have shipped around one billion doses of their vaccines to more than 100 countries or territories around the world.

They are expecting their annual manufacturing capacity to reach three billion doses by year’s end, before climbing to four billion doses in 2022.

AFP