‘Do not be afraid’ of Omicron, says CEO of BioNTech | Coronavirus Plague News

In an interview with WSJ, BioNTech CEO, Ugur Sahin, said that although Omicron can infect people with high immunizations, they are immune to dangerous diseases.

COVID-19 BioNTech chief executive officer of the vaccine has a message for those who are concerned about the Omicron type of coronavirus: stay cool.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (paywall) On Tuesday, Ugur Sahin, co-founder of BioNTech and co-developer of the first COVID-19 vaccine, said that although the Omicron variant could make it harder for more people with the vaccine, they were expected to remain seriously ill.

“Our message is: Don’t worry, the process remains the same: Strengthen the third correction,” he told WSJ.

Sahin said the BioNTech mRNA jab, which he and his team of researchers created in January 2020, and then co-produced by drug giant United States Pfizer, has already proven to be effective in preventing the spread of certain viruses that have infected humans. they have made an agreement.

He also said that although Omicron may be able to evade vaccinated antibodies than Delta, due to the abundance of these new mutations, it would not be possible for Omicron to circumvent the T-cell immune response to infection.

“Our faith [that the vaccines work against Omicron] it comes from science: If the virus achieves immune defenses, it benefits from antibodies, but there is a second layer of immunity that protects against serious T-cells, “said WSJ.

Interview with a BioNTech executive followed on the heels of comments provided by the CEO of Moderna Stephane Bancel Tuesday. In an interview with Financial Times (paywall), Bancel warned that existing COVID-19 jabs would not be very effective against Omicron.

“There is no country, I think, where [the effectiveness] it’s the same part … we had with Delta, “he said.

“I think it will be a little bit. I don’t know how many because we have to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to … are like ‘this is not going to be good’.

Bancel’s comments disrupted European and Asian markets, sending stocks and oil prices down.

In an interview with the WSJ, Sahin said bringing the sale of the Omicron-targeting jab would take about 100 days, but it would not be necessary.

“We have a plan to give a third shot to the public, and we need to stick to that plan and speed it up,” he told WSJ. “Whether we need additional protection and modified vaccines, this will be seen later.”