Omicron: Brazilian health regulator receives information from some vaccine manufacturers

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A week after requesting information from the pharmaceutical companies that produce Covid-19 vaccines used in the country, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) announced the replies received. The agency requested information on studies regarding the Omicron variant.

In reply to the agency, Pfizer and Fiocruz clarified the strategies used. The Butantan Institute, responsible for the Coronavac vaccine, asked for an extension until next Monday to reply.

Janssen has not yet replied. ANVISA requests monitoring and assessment data on the impact of the discovered variants of Covid-19 against the effectiveness of the vaccines produced by each developer.

The agency demanded a period of one week for pharmaceutical companies to respond. The date was reached on Wednesday, December 8.

“It is important to clarify that the full experimental evaluation of Omicron may take weeks or even months. In the meantime, vaccine developers should continuously monitor their immunobiologicals for the emergence of a variant of concern,” the agency said in a statement.

Since scientists in South Africa announced the new strain, pharmaceutical companies have been testing the performance of their vaccines against the Omicron. There is concern that the mutation will be resistant to the defense produced by vaccines. The first data on these evaluations are expected to be available in the coming weeks.

Performed in maximum security laboratories, the tests analyze the reaction of blood samples from vaccinated individuals when placed in contact with the new variant of the virus. In Brazil, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, and Coronavac immunizers are currently authorized.