Existing COVID-19 vaccines ineffective against new variant: Moderna CEO

Existing COVID vaccines will struggle in fighting to the "highly transmissible" Omicron variant, Stephane Bancel, head of US vaccine maker Moderna, told the Financial Times on Tuesday, stating that it will take two weeks to know if current vaccines are effective and months to create to a new one.

An increased number of countries have introduced travel restrictions after the new variant with a large number of mutations was detected in South Africa last week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the global risk of the spread of Omicron was "extremely high".

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden stated the Omicron varian should be seen as a "cause for concern, not a cause for panic". No Omicron-linked deaths have been reported yet.

Forty-two cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant have been confirmed in 10 countries of the European Union, said the head of the EU's public health agency.

Authorities in the 27-nation EU are analyzing six more "probable" cases, Andrea Ammon, chair of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told an online conference hosted by the EU's Slovenian presidency is.

She said the confirmed cases were mild or asymptomatic, although in younger age groups.

"For the assessment of whether it (Omicron) escapes immunity, we still have to wait until the investigations in the laboratories with sera of people who have recovered have been carried out. It is expected in a few weeks, "she said.

The EU drug regulator could approve COVID-19 vaccines adapted to target the new variant within three to four months, if necessary, the agency's chief said as she said existing shots would continue to provide protection.

Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), spoke to the European Parliament and said it was not known whether drug manufacturers would have to adjust their vaccines to protect against Omicron, but the agency was preparing for that possibility.