Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A British expert who helped develop Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine said Saturday it is "extremely unlikely" the newly discovered Omicron variant will trigger a wave of serious illness among vaccinated people.
Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told the BBC he was cautiously optimistic that existing vaccines -- such as the one his Oxford team helped develop for AstraZeneca -- could be effective at preventing serious disease from the Omicron variant.
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Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that the newly discovered Omicron variant may evade various forms of immune protection.
Appearing on NBC News' Meet the Press, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it was "troublesome" that Omicron features about 32 or more variants in the virus' spike protein, which he described as the "business end of the virus" adding other mutations could allow it to be more transmissible.
Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told the BBC he was cautiously optimistic that existing vaccines -- such as the one his Oxford team helped develop for AstraZeneca -- could be effective at preventing serious disease from the Omicron variant.
...and
Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that the newly discovered Omicron variant may evade various forms of immune protection.
Appearing on NBC News' Meet the Press, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it was "troublesome" that Omicron features about 32 or more variants in the virus' spike protein, which he described as the "business end of the virus" adding other mutations could allow it to be more transmissible.
