Health regulators should decide by the end of the month whether to approve Covid-19 vaccines targeting the most recent virus strains without first requiring clinical data, BioNTech’s chief executive has said, as studies suggest jabs developed earlier in the pandemic are less effective against the latest variants.

U?ur ?ahin warned that a sub-variant of Omicron that fully escapes vaccines’ protection might emerge as countries prepare to launch autumn booster campaigns. The debate over whether to allow a more rapid switch to an updated vaccine is becoming more “urgent”, he said in an interview with the FT.

A number of studies — including one from BioNTech and another in science journal Nature, both published this month — have shown that previous infections from the original Omicron strain, known as BA.1, do not provide a strong antibody response against newer versions. This suggests vaccines in development to tackle BA.1 may not offer the best protection.