COVID Vaccine
Dec. 22, 2021
AstraZeneca Plc. said on Tuesday it is working with Oxford University to produce a vaccine for the Omicron coronavirus variant, joining other vaccine-makers who are looking to develop the variant-specific vaccine.
An illustrative image of a person holding a medical syringe and a vaccine vial in front of the Astra Zeneca logo displayed on a screen.
Oxford did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.
The Financial Times first reported the news, citing Sandy Douglas, a research group leader at Oxford.
“Adenovirus-based vaccines (such as that made by Oxford/AstraZeneca) could in principle be used to respond to any new variant more rapidly than some may previously have realised,” Douglas told FT.
A lab-study last week found that AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail Evusheld retained neutralising activity against the Omicron variant.
Vaccine makers Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna also previously said they were working on Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccines. Moderna said hopes to start clinical trials early next year.
REUTERS
