AstraZeneca Aims to Have Updated Oxford Vaccine for Variants by Autumn

A vial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and UK-based drugmaker AstraZeneca is checked as they arrive at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, England, on Jan. 2, 2021. Gareth Fuller/Pool via AP

AstraZeneca and Oxford University aim to have an updated vaccine to address the different CCP virus variants by the autumn, according to an executive for the UK-based drugmaker.

Research chief Mene Pangalos said they wanted a next-generation vaccine “as rapidly as possible” to tackle new variants of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly called the novel coronavirus.