Steps taken to target Omicron with AstraZeneca jab, scientist says

Sandy Douglas, from Oxford University, says updated vaccine could respond to any new variant more rapidly'

• Coronavirus - latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Oxford and AstraZeneca have taken preliminary steps" to produce an updated version of their coronavirus vaccine to specifically target the Omicron variant, a scientist at the university has said.

Sandy Douglas, a research group leader at Oxford, told the Financial Times that an updated vaccine could be used to respond to any new variant more rapidly" than previously believed.