How would COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers adapt to the variants?
By modifying vaccines, a process that should be easier than coming up with the original photos.
Viruses move constantly as they spread, and most changes are not significant. First-generation COVID-19 vaccines appear to work against current variants, but decision-makers are already taking steps to update their prescriptions if health authorities decide it is necessary.
COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are made with a new technology that is easy to update. So-called mRNA vaccines use a piece of genetic code for the spike protein that covers the coronavirus, so the immune system can learn to recognize and fight the real thing.
If there is a variant with a mutated peak protein that the original vaccine cannot recognize, companies would change that piece of genetic code for a better fit – if and when regulators decide it is necessary.
Upgrading other COVID-19 vaccines could be more complex. The AstraZeneca vaccine, for example, uses a harmless version of a cold virus to carry that spike protein gene into the body. An update would require the growth of cold viruses with the updated spike gene.
The Food and Drug Administration has stated that studies on updated COVID-19 vaccines will not have to be as large or long as for the first generation of photographs. Instead, several hundred volunteers could receive experimental doses of a refurbished vaccine and have their blood checked for signs that their immune system has improved, as well as the original vaccines.
It is more difficult to decide if the virus has changed enough to change the photos.
Globally, health authorities will monitor coronavirus mutations for vaccine-resistant mutations. It should also decide whether a renewed vaccine should protect against several variants.
In general, the process would be similar to what is already happening with the flu vaccine. Influenza viruses move much faster than coronaviruses, so flu vaccines are adjusted every year and must protect against multiple strains.
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