The virologist and researcher at Fiocruz Felipe Naveca spoke in an interview with CNN on Tuesday (30), about how the new Ômicron variant can affect the development of vaccines, and stated that the production of new immunizers will be faster.
“Development is not starting from scratch, it is now a modification of the vaccine’s formulation”, he stated.
Vaccines developed to target Ômicron can be approved in three to four months, if necessary, said the head of the European Union’s drug regulator on Tuesday (30).
While vaccines have so far proved “effective against circulating variants”, there is a need to “understand whether or not this will be the case” with Ômicron, said Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), to European Parliament.
According to Naveca, there is still no information on the impact of Ômicron on existing vaccines, but currently large pharmaceutical companies are able to evolve quickly, due to all the research that has already been done.
According to the researcher, “there is still no information to know whether the variant is associated with an increase in more severe cases”. “In South Africa there was a rapid increase in cases, but there is no association with serious cases,” he said.
Possibly more transferable variant
According to Naveca, the variant appears to be more transmissible, according to studies and its proliferation, but it is not yet known how the new variant affects people.
Felipe Naveca also said that there is still no certainty regarding the origin of the new strain. “The first cases were in Africa, at least the first ones reported. It is necessary to investigate in greater detail to see if it was already circulating in Europe.”
Regarding safety measures, the virologist said that they remain the same and that they are still necessary, such as the use of masks, hygiene and social distance.
For him, having a vaccination passport and performing tests of the PCR type are more important measures than restricting the entry of foreigners into the country.
“It is more important to require a vaccination passport and negative PCR immediately before the flight, this is even more important than restricting people coming from other countries, since (the new strain) was detected in several places”, he concluded.
(*With information from Niamh Kennedy, from CNN)
Reference: CNN Brasil
