Current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be reworked to ensure they are effective against Omicron and future variants of the coronavirus, a WHO body says.
The group said there could be a need to update the existing vaccines to better target emerging COVID-19 variants, like Omicron which has spread rapidly and has been detected in 149 countries so far.
The WHO said it was too early to treat the disease as endemic - meaning a regularly occurring milder disease like the flu. "COVID-19 vaccines that have high impact on prevention of infection and transmission, in addition to the prevention of severe disease and death, are needed and should be developed," TAG-Co-VAC said.
Until new vaccines have been developed, the group said, "the composition of current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated". It said preliminary data indicated the existing vaccines were less effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 disease in people who have contracted the Omicron variant.
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