COVID vaccines do not need to be changed for Omicron "at this time," says Fauci

COVID-19 vaccines do not currently need to be changed to target the Omicron variant, the president's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday at a White House press briefing. 

There is "no need for a variant-specific booster at this time," Fauci said. Noting the "intense interest" in the ability of vaccines to neutralize Omicron, he cited new data that suggests boosters are 75% effective against severe disease. He also said the two-dose mRNA vaccine regimens of Pfizer and Moderna, while much less effective in fending off Omicron entirely, still provide considerable protection against hospitalization.  

Health authorities and drugmakers around the world have been racing to assess the highly mutated variant's impact on the protection offered by current vaccines, and to determine whether booster shots would need to be changed to protect against the new strain.