How would COVID-19 vaccine makers cope with the variants?

How would COVID-19 vaccine makers cope with the variants?

By tweaking their vaccines, a process that should be easier than finding the original vaccines.

Viruses are constantly mutating as they spread, and most of the changes are not significant. The first generation COVID-19 vaccines appear to work against current variants, but manufacturers are already taking steps to update their recipes if health authorities decide to.

Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines are made with new, easy-to-update technology. So-called mRNA vaccines use a piece of genetic code for the spike protein that covers the coronavirus, so your immune system can learn to recognize and fight reality.

If a variant with a mutated spike protein arises that the original vaccine cannot recognize, companies would trade that piece of genetic code for a better match – if and when regulators so decide.

Updating other COVID-19 vaccines could be more complex. The AstraZeneca vaccine, for example, uses a harmless version of a cold virus to carry this spike protein gene around the body. An update would require the growth of the common cold virus with the updated spike gene.

The Food and Drug Administration has said studies on the updated COVID-19 vaccines should not be as large or lengthy as for the first generation of vaccines. Instead, a few hundred volunteers could receive experimental doses of a revamped vaccine and have their blood checked for signs that it boosted the immune system as well as the original vaccines.

It is more difficult to decide if the virus has transformed enough to modify the shots.

Globally, health authorities will monitor coronavirus mutations to spot vaccine-resistant mutations. They should also decide whether a revamped vaccine should protect against more than one variant.

Overall, the process would be similar to what’s already happening with the flu shot. Flu viruses mutate much faster than coronaviruses, so flu shots are adjusted every year and need to protect against multiple strains.

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