BioNTech’s chief medical officer told CNBC on Wednesday that people would probably need a third shot of the two-dose Covid-19 vaccine to boost immunity to the virus, according to previous comments by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
Dr. Ozlem Tureci, co-founder and CMO of BioNTech, which developed a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, said she also expects people to be vaccinated against coronavirus annually, as for seasonal flu. He said, according to scientists, that the vaccine-induced immunity to the virus will decrease over time.
“We see indications of this also in the induced immune response, but also in the natural one, against SARS-COV-2,” he said during an interview with Kelly Evans of CNBC in “The Exchange”. “We see this decrease in immune responses also in people who have just become infected and therefore [it’s] it was also expected with vaccines. “
Tureci’s comments come after Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in an interview on April 15 that people are likely to need a booster vaccine or a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine within a time frame. of 12 months after complete vaccination. He also said people may need to receive additional shots every year.
Pfizer said earlier this month that its Covid-19 vaccine was more than 91% effective in protecting against the virus and more than 95% effective against serious illness up to six months after the second dose. The Moderna vaccine, which uses a technology similar to Pfizer’s, was also shown to remain effective at six months.
Researchers say they still don’t know how long the protection against the virus lasts after six months of being fully vaccinated, although public health officials and health experts expect protection to decline after a while.
If Americans needed booster shots, the U.S. government would probably have to make arrangements with drug manufacturers to supply additional doses and make plans for vaccine distribution.
On Friday, Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to President Joe Biden’s Covid response team, said the Biden administration is preparing for the potential need to make vaccines against the Covid-19 vaccine. He said the administration has thought about the need to insure additional doses.
“I can assure you that when we do our planning, when the president orders the purchase of additional vaccines as he has done, and when we focus on all the opportunities to expand production that we’re talking about here, we take scenarios very seriously. like this, “he said.
Last week, Biden administration chief scientific officer Covid’s response, David Kessler, said Americans should expect to receive booster shots to protect themselves against coronavirus variants. He told U.S. lawmakers that currently authorized vaccines are highly protective, but noted that new variants could “challenge” the effectiveness of the shots.
“We don’t know everything at the moment,” he told the selective subcommittee for the coronavirus crisis.
“We are studying the durability of the antibody response,” he said. “It sounds strong, but there’s a certain decrease in that and no doubt the variants challenge … make these vaccines work more. So I think for planning, just for planning, I think we should to expect encouragement. “
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC last week that the company expects to have a booster vaccine for the two-dose vaccine available in the fall.