A. Fauci: Vaccine manufacturers could develop special booster dose for Omicron

Manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines have emergency plans to treat the Omicron mutation, which include a combined vaccine against the original strain and the mutant, or alternatively an Omicron-specific booster dose, A. Fauci said Friday. .

The U.S. government is working with Moderna, Pfizer and J&J on multiple contingency plans, the infectious disease specialist told reporters as he briefed the White House.

“One is to speed up the production of the vaccines they already have. The next is to make, for example, a combined potency that will ‘contain’ both the original strain and the new mutation, and the other is “to make a special Omicron booster dose,” Fauci said.

“They speculate that they may need to do this and are preparing for the eventuality,” he added.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with local authorities to investigate suspected Omicron mutations in states other than those already reported, Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

Omicron cases have been reported in about 40 countries, she said, but the Delta mutation remains the dominant strain in the United States.

“I know the news is focused on Omicron. But we have to remember that 99.9% of cases in the country right now come from Delta, especially those who have not been vaccinated,” she said.