Stefan Bancel

The head of drugmaker Moderna said Covid-19 vaccines were unlikely to be as effective against the coronavirus Omicron variant as before, raising new concerns in financial markets about the trajectory of the pandemic, Reuters reported.

BioNTech has begun work on a vaccine specifically for the new variant of the coronavirus Omicron, which was first identified in South Africa.

The development of an adapted vaccine is part of the standard procedure.

The first steps for a possible new vaccine are carried out in parallel with the assessment of whether one will be needed after the advent of Omicron.