Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Thursday said people will likely need a Covid booster by the fall of 2022 to increase their protection against the China virus.
Bancel said the efficacy of the current booster shot will decline over the next several months and people will need a fourth jab before winter 2022.
People with underlying health conditions will need annual Covid boosters indefinitely, according to Bancel.
Bancel’s comments come just one day after the CDC said the term ‘fully vaccinated’ is being replaced with ‘up-to-date’ shots.
CNBC reported:
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Thursday said the efficacy of boosters against Covid-19 will likely decline over time, and people may need a fourth shot in the fall of 2022 to increase their protection.
Bancel said people who received their boosters in the fall of 2021 will likely have enough protection to get them through the winter, when new infections surge as people gather indoors to escape the cold.
However, Bancel said the efficacy of boosters will probably decline over the course of several months, similar to what happened with the first two doses. The Moderna chief was interviewed by Goldman Sachs during the investment bank’s health-care CEO conference.
“I still believe we’re going to need boosters in the fall of ’22 and forward,” Bancel said, adding that people who are older or have underlying health conditions might need annual boosters for years to come.
“We have been saying that we believe first this virus is not going away,” Bancel said. “We’re gonna have to live with it.”