Astrazeneca, Oxford To Develop Omicron Vaccine

22 December 2021 Coronavirus

Scientists at Oxford University say the improved vaccine would provide protection against new and emerging variants.

AstraZeneca is collaborating with Oxford University to develop an improved coronavirus vaccine that will exclusively target the Omicron variant, the company has announced. Scientists at the university argue that the improved vaccine would also provide protection against new and emerging variants in the future, as well as respond more quickly to them.

France could soon have around 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, health minister Olivier Veran has warned, as the new Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread rapidly. The Omicron variant will be the dominant strain of the coronavirus in France by early January, he said.

Singapore said it will freeze all new ticket sales for flights and buses under its quarantine-free travel scheme for four weeks from Thursday. Citing the risk of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, the government said the move would buy time to strengthen its defences against COVID-19.

Australia ruled out a Christmas lockdown and renewed its vaccination push, as surging Omicron cases caused authorities to impose new curbs and expedite COVID-19 booster shots.

Turkey’s domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, Turkovac, has received emergency use authorisation by Turkish authorities and will be open to use from next weekend, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Turkey began developing Turkovac this year, but the launch date for the vaccine has been beset by delays. President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey would make the shot available globally.

Turkey has already administered more than 125 million doses of vaccines using shots developed by China’s Sinovac and by Pfizer/BioNTech, with more than 51 million having received two doses of the vaccines. It has also begun administering booster shots.

 

 

 

SOURCE  TIMESKUWAIT

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