Reinforcement features against covid-19 coronavirus may become a common necessity, according to recent comments from David Kessler, scientific director of President Joe Biden’s covid-19 working group, as well as Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla .
Kessler dit during a meeting of the House Congressional Committee today, reinforcements may be needed within a year and “those who are most vulnerable will have to go first” to get them. The reason, he said, is that the immunity provided by the vaccine could decrease over time and can be “challenged” by new variants of the virus.
The head of Pfizer, the maker of one of the covid-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S., said in a recent interview that it was “likely” that people would need a third shot to boost the vaccine. ‘in 12 months. Bourla also left open the possibility that annual shots against the coronavirus could become a reality.
Bourla’s statements were made during an interview with CNBC, as part of an event co-organized by CVS Health. The event aired Thursday, but was held two weeks ago, on April 1st. In discussing the possible long-term protection offered by the Pfizer vaccine, Bourla presented other preventable viral diseases such as polio and influenza, which require different vaccine programs. And in the case of coronavirus, it’s probably closer to the flu, which requires an annual vaccine.
“There is likely to be a need for a third dose between six and twelve months and from there there will be an annual revaccination,” Bourla said.
G / O Media may receive a commission
Similar mRNA-based vaccines developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna have been highly effective (more than 90%) in the prevention of covid-19 disease, especially serious illness and death. And more recent real-world evidence has suggested that they are so effective in preventing infection and greatly reducing the risk of transmission. Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has so far identified only 5,800 “advanced” cases of 66 million Americans who received a covid-19 vaccine, an infection rate of less than 0.008%. Of these rare cases among fully vaccinated people, a third have been asymptomatic, 7% have needed hospitalization and 1% have died, a total of 74 deaths. In comparison, about 1,000 people die every day from covid-19 in the U.S. this spring, and more than 3,000 people die every day during the winter peak.
There is other research suggested that reinfection is rare in naturally infected people at least three months later, while recent data from Pfizer clinical trials suggest that the immunity provided by the vaccine roman strong for at least six months. Undoubtedly, these vaccines may provide lasting protection even for longer.
Our current vaccines are still widely effective against different variants of the coronavirus that have appeared in recent months, but some (such as B.135, found for the first time in South Africa) seem slightly better at eluding immunity than others. And even before these variants spread widely, scientists warned that the coronavirus could mutate significantly down the road in a way that would allow it to evade the immunity provided by natural infection or vaccination.
Both Pfizer and Moderna are currently conducting trials of a booster strategy against B.135, and Moderna is also testing a modified dose of its vaccine aimed at specifically targeting the variant. Ultimately, however, the best long-term solution to our covid problems is likely to be a universal vaccine that can effectively target all future strains of the virus, a plan that scientists are already working on, according to Anthony Fauci , which too he spoke Thursday in front of members of the House.