Thread by @theipaper

Tweaked vaccine for Omicron unlikely to be available for six months, government adviser says

🔴 EXCLUSIVE from @BawdenTom inews.co.uk/news/science/o…

@BawdenTom Scientists fear existing jabs will be less effective against the new Omicron variant although it is unclear by how much.

inews.co.uk/news/science/o…

@BawdenTom 💉 Vaccine developers expect to have a much clearer picture within a fortnight and are already working on modifying their jabs in case Omicron proves highly resistant to them in their current form.

inews.co.uk/news/science/o…

@BawdenTom 🗣️ JCVI member Professor Jeremy Brown has said however that by the time a new vaccine is ready the new variant will either have wreaked havoc – or been forgotten.

inews.co.uk/news/science/o…

@BawdenTom Professor Jeremy Brown said: “The speed of turnaround is impressive but it isn’t going to help with this particular situation.”

inews.co.uk/news/science/o…

@BawdenTom 💉 Pfizer and BioNTech have said they expect to produce a tweaked jab within 100 days but Prof Brown predicts it will be considerably longer before any new vaccines are readily available to the public because there are several stages involved.

inews.co.uk/news/science/o…

@BawdenTom 💉😷 Professor Jeremy Brown added that "it’s all about making sure that we are in a position to be as strongly protected as possible – just making sure that if Omicron takes off we’ve done as much as we can to limit the effects of it.”

inews.co.uk/news/science/o…