Dr.
He said even though the Omicron variant has shown a level of "immune escape," he said the level of antibodies provided by vaccines and boosters "give you a degree of cross-protection, particularly against severe disease."
Dr.
"We can't predict the future, but we can prepare for it," Walensky said during the briefing.
Zients said it would take "a few months" to get a modified vaccine available to the public, which includes approvals by the
Fauci also warned that while early studies suggest that those affected with the Omicron variant have suffered from "mild" symptoms, he said it was too early to tell its progression. He said more time is needed in the upcoming weeks to confirm how severe those cases will become.
According to the
"In the event ... that updated vaccinations or boosters are needed to respond to Omicron, we will accelerate their development and deployment with every available tool,'' Biden said in an address Monday.
Many scientists have expressed some alarm at the new variant, but say there's a lot more that still isn't known. Most experts agree that it's highly likely that the existing vaccines will be at least somewhat effective against the Omicron mutation.
Earlier Tuesday,
"I think it's going to be a material drop," Bancel told the
"I just don't know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I've talked to ... are like, 'This is not going to be good.'"
Fauci said early this week that the Omicron variant may be more transmissible, and that it's almost certain to show up in
"The profile of the mutations strongly suggest that it's going to have an advantage in transmissibility and that it might evade immune protection that you would get, for example, from a monoclonal antibody or from the convalescent serum after a person's been infected and possibly even against some of the vaccine-induced antibodies," he said.
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