, Columnists
Omicron Poses a Puzzle for Vaccine Makers
Early studies show the omicron vaccine isn’t an improvement and a broader vaccine will take longer to develop.
A puzzle.
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As Covid restrictions come down throughout most of the advanced world — even Australia is preparing to welcome international visitors again — public health authorities will need to make decisions on future vaccine protocols. One possibility would be a booster shot formulated specifically for the fast-spreading omicron variant, which is behind the recent growth in infections in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere.
Bloomberg Opinion columnist Therese Raphael and Bloomberg Intelligence pharmaceutical analyst Sam Fazeli discuss a new study that casts doubt on whether such a variant-specific vaccine is worth it.