(Bloomberg) -- BioNTech SE is working to adapt its Covid-19 vaccine to address the omicron variant and expects to have a new version ready within 100 days if necessary. 

The company is starting development now in order to move as quickly as possible, BioNTech said in a statement. The first steps of developing a new vaccine will overlap with the research necessary in order to evaluate whether a new shot will be needed. 

The German biotech and its Covid vaccine partner Pfizer Inc. put plans into place months ago to ensure a new version of their shot could ship within 100 days if necessary. The omicron variant has raised concerns around the world, with countries implementing travel bans to buy time as researchers race to study whether it will evade vaccines and spread more rapidly. It will probably take weeks to understand the full impact of the variant, scientists have said. 

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