Pfizer launches study of omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Pfizer and BioNTech are launching a clinical trial to test an omicron-specific version of their COVID-19 vaccine, the companies announced today. They're moving forward with studies of a new form of the vaccine in response to concerns that the original shot isn't preventing infection with the newest variant of coronavirus or mild COVID-19 illness - even though it appears to be holding up well in terms of preventing hospitalization and death, especially for people who received a booster.
The original two-dose series of the gene-based COVID-19 vaccines, made by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna, don't appear to offer much protection against infection with the omicron variant with the virus. A third booster dose restores some of that...