Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Business

Vaccines should be able to be adapted fast to address COVID-19 variants - WHO's Ryan

FILE PHOTO: Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) attends a news conference on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

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)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.