Omicron Variant: Booster Shot Could Be Ready By March 2022, Moderna President Says

Moderna President Stephen Hoge said Wednesday that the company could have a COVID-19 booster shot to combat the newly-discovered Omicron variant tested and ready to file for U.S. authorization as soon as March. Boosters carrying genes specifically to combat mutations in the variant could be the quickest way to address any effect it may have on the potency of vaccines, Hoge told Reuters. “We’ve already started that program,” he said, adding that “the Omicron-specific boosters, just realistically, are not [going to be ready] before March and maybe more in the second quarter,” unless the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changes…