Omicron vaccine will take 'months' to produce

The head of Germany's Standing Committee on Vaccination (StiKo), Thomas Mertens, said he did not expect possible new vaccines against the omicron variant of the coronavirus for months, according to a report on Saturday.

He said it was entirely possible that a new vaccine would be needed to be effective against the omicron variant.

"Omicron has many changes to the spike protein, which could make it harder for antibodies to fight the virus," he told the Düsseldorf-based newspaper Rheinische Post.

"Three to six months is likely to be needed by the manufacturers in the laboratory. That's not trivial — they have to create a vaccine that works against omicron and delta because delta is still widespread," the StiKo chief said.

He also urged people to get booster shots despite a possible new vaccine.

"Boosters are definitely worth it. The fight against the delta variant continues," Mertens said. "And it would be no problem to get revaccinated a few months after the booster vaccination to protect against omicron if necessary."

Germany reported 64,510 new infections in the last 24 hours, while 378 more people died due to the coronavirus, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The new figures take the country’s total cases to more than 6.1 million, and 102,946 new fatalities.

The seven-day incidence rose slightly to 442.7 from 442.1 the previous day, RKI reported.