Vaccine development speed for Omicron… Pfizer "Ready by March"

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The main variable that will determine to what level this controversial quarantine pass will be applied in the future and how to keep the distance depends on how much we can control the rapidly spreading Omicron mutation. In the midst of this, news came in last night that large pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna are speeding up the development of vaccines for mutations in Omicron. Pfizer said a new vaccine would be available in March. 

This news is Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York.

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In the United States, where Omicron mutations are rapidly spreading, the number of hospitalized patients per day on the 9th was nearly 140,000, close to the all-time high.

The US medical community, which is already suffering from a shortage of manpower as the number of inpatients increases rapidly, is concerned about medical paralysis.

In the midst of this, pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna are accelerating the development of vaccines that can respond to Omicron.

Pfizer says it is working on an improved vaccine that works against Omicron.

[Albert Bulla/CEO of Pfizer (: The new vaccine will be effective against the Omicron mutation as well as other mutations.]

The new vaccine will be ready by March. He added that he still doesn't know if a new vaccine is needed

[Albert Bulla/Pfizer CEO (CNBC News appearance): The new vaccine will work against the Omicron variant as well as the other variants).

He added that the new vaccine will be ready by March, but the current method of inoculating up to the third booster shot is still valid, adding that he does not yet know if a new vaccine is needed.

[Albert Bulla/CEO of Pfizer (CNBC News): The new vaccine will be ready in March.

However, I don't know if we need a new vaccine.

I don't know if a new vaccine will be used, and if so, how it will be used.

But we will be ready by March.

In fact, it has already started manufacturing.]

Moderna also said that it will start a clinical trial for a vaccine for Omicron.

[Stephane Bansel/CEO Moderna (CEO CNBC News): We are accelerating the development of an Omicron-specific vaccine that can be used in the form of a booster shot.

We will start clinical trials soon.]

Moderna also announced that some countries, including Korea and the UK and Switzerland, have paid more than 20 trillion won in advance to purchase a vaccine in preparation for this fall.