The Omicron variant is spreading, and it’s most likely not the last time a variant will emerge. After all, that’s what viruses do. With COVID, it is approaching endemic status where several variants will continue to emerge.
Uğur Şahin, CEO of BioNTech, who co-developed a COVID shot with Pfizer, recently stated that, “our vaccine for the Omicron variant, should be a three dose vaccine.” Omicron vaccines are already in the developmental stage as the variant continues to spread.
Some journalists are reporting that this means an Omicron vaccine will be a separate three dose vaccine, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. What seems to be the case is that a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine is what neutralized the Omicron COVID-19 variant in a laboratory test. That being said, vaccines developed specifically for Omicron are still under development.
At least one COVID shot a year, and maybe more, may be mandated by government health authorities. These shots may be required for people to keep their “vaccine passes” up to date. This is already happening in Israel with regards to a booster shot, and the European Union is considering a nine-month expiration date on its COVID vaccine certificates.
