Current Covid vaccines can likely protect from omicron: BioNTech CEO

The current generation of Covid-19 vaccines probably will still protect against severe disease in people infected by the omicron variant, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said.

The current generation of Covid-19 vaccines probably will still protect against severe disease in people infected by the omicron variant, BioNTech SE Chief Executive Officer Ugur Sahin said. 

The new, highly mutated variant could result in more vaccinated people becoming infected, Sahin told Dow Jones in an interview. But even if the variant is able to elude antibodies in vaccinated people, it will probably still be targeted by immune cells, he said. 

“Don’t freak out,” Sahin said. “The plan remains the same: Speed up the administration of a third booster shot.”

The comments from the chief of BioNTech, Pfizer Inc.’s partner on the