CEO Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that people may need to be vaccinated annually against COVID-19 over the next few years – similar to seasonal flu vaccines.
“Unfortunately, as (the virus) spreads, it can move,” Alex Gorsky said in an interview with CNBC.
“Every time he moves, it’s almost like another click of the dial, so to speak, where we can see another variant, another mutation that can have an impact on his ability to remove antibodies or have another type of response, not only to a therapeutic, but also to a vaccine, “he added.
Public health officials have previously warned that the coronavirus may remain here.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, said COVID-19 could become “endemic”, meaning it will be a constant part of communities.
“I doubt we will eradicate this,” Fauci told a virtual health conference last week. “I think we need to plan that this may be necessary to maintain chronic control.”
Gorsky’s comments, meanwhile, came after Johnson & Johnson last week called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
The drug manufacturer states that its effect is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease.
The J&J vaccine would add a third vital option – along with Pfizer and Moderna photos – as the US struggles to distribute vaccines against the virus.
However, the J&J version has proven less effective against a more aggressive strain of the virus found in South Africa, the report said.
This strain, as well as a variant identified in the United Kingdom, was detected in the United States.