ZURICH (Reuters) – It should be possible to adapt coronavirus vaccines quickly if they lose their effectiveness against mutations, World Health Organization (WHO) emergencies chief Mike Ryan said on Wednesday.
“Have a look at influenza. We change the vaccine composition twice a year, for the northern and southern hemisphere, and we’re able to issue vaccines very, very quickly to combat the predominant flu strains,” Ryan said during a social media question and answer session.
“There’s no reason, even down the line, if this virus evolves to a point where our vaccines begin to lose effectiveness, (why we should not be able to vaccinate against COVID-19). We can adapt those vaccines, and I believe we can adapt those vaccines quickly.”
(Reporting by Vishwadha Chander, Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
