“It is likely” that you will need another dose of COVID-19 within 12 months after completing the inoculation course, according to chief executive of vaccine manufacturer Pfizer.
Those responsible for the other two authorized shootings in the United States – Johnson & Johnson and Moderna – have made similar predictions.
And it’s possible the vaccine will become an annual rite, said executive Albert Bourla, who spoke to CNBC.
“We have to see what the sequence would be and, for how often we have to do this, it remains to be seen,” she told Bertha Coombs of the network at an event with CVS Health. “A likely scenario is that a third dose will probably be needed, between six and twelve months, and from there there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, variants play a key role. “.
He added: “It is extremely important to suppress the group of people who may be susceptible to the virus.”
The chief executive made his statements on April 1, but they were issued on Thursday.
In February, Johnson & Johnson CEO also told the network that those who receive the company’s COVID-19 vaccine should perhaps be vaccinated every year because they have the flu vaccine.
The use of the Johnson & Johnson feature, which, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna model, requires only a single dose, was discontinued earlier this week in the United States during the investigation of reports that approximately one of every million recipients suffered from a rare clotting disorder in the days after the injection. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna sockets require two doses.
Earlier this week, Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, told the network that the company expects to produce a booster in the fall.
Dr. David Battinelli, chief physician at Northwell, said the consensus within the medical community has been that a strengthening shot of COVID-19 vaccination may be needed.
“Making it an annual shot is a guess,” Battinelli said. “We will have a better idea as more data appears.
“During the early cycles, the shots hopefully capture some of the variants as well,” Battinelli said.
Battinelli added that if reinforcements are needed, getting vaccinated people back for follow-up shots will be key to controlling the pandemic.
He said other viruses did not go away until “we had vaccine rates of 90% to 100% for many, many years. On the other hand, this virus will not go away.”
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