The CEO of Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that you may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 annually for years to come, similar to seasonal flu vaccines.
“Unfortunately, as (the virus) spreads, it can also mutate,” Alex Gorsky said in an interview with CNBC.
“Every time it mutates, it’s almost like another click of the dial to say where we can see another variant, another mutation that can have an impact on its ability to defend itself from antibodies or to have some kind of response. different not only to therapeutic, but also to a vaccine, ”he added.
Public health officials had already warned that the coronavirus is likely to stay here.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said COVID-19 could become “endemic,” meaning it will be a constant part of communities.
“I doubt we’ll eradicate that,” Fauci said at a virtual health conference last week. “I think we need to plan that this is something we might need to maintain chronic control.”
Gorsky’s comments, meanwhile, came after Johnson & Johnson last week asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
The drug maker says its shot is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease.
The J&J vaccine would add a third vital option, along with features from Pfizer and Moderna, as the U.S. struggles to distribute vaccines against the virus.
However, the J&J version has been shown to be less effective against a more aggressive strain of the virus found in South Africa, according to the report.
This strain, as well as a variant identified in the UK, has been detected in the US.