Covid Vaccine Need to be Updated for Continued Protection

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that existing COVID-19 vaccinations may need to be upgraded to continue to give protection against new variations such as Omicron.

Although current vaccines provide a high level of protection against severe disease and death caused by variants of concern (VOC), the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC), a group of 18 experts, said on Tuesday that future vaccines that can prevent infection and transmission are needed.

Meanwhile, the composition of current COVID-19 vaccinations may need to be changed to fight against the virus's development, according to the reports.

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These updates must be based on strains that are genetically and antigenically similar to the circulating variations. According to WHO, to "reduce the need for subsequent booster doses," they should also elicit "broad, strong, and long-lasting" reactions.

Experts have urged COVID-19 vaccine makers to provide data on the efficacy of current and Omicron-specific vaccinations to determine when vaccine composition adjustments may be necessary.

Experts stressed the necessity of broader worldwide availability of existing COVID-19 vaccinations in relation to the current Omicron variant.