BioNTech’s medical director told CNBC on Wednesday that people will probably need a third shot of his two-dose Covid-19 vaccine as immunity to the virus wanes, according to previous comments by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
Dr. Ozlem Tureci, co-founder and CMO of BioNTech, which developed a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, said he also expects people to be vaccinated against coronavirus annually, as well as for seasonal flu. That’s because, she said, scientists expect the vaccine-induced immunity to the virus to decline over time.
“We see indications for this in the induced, but also natural, immune response against SARS-VOC-2,” she said in an interview with Kelly Evans of CNBC on “The Exchange.” “We see this decrease in immune responses in people who have just been infected and therefore [it’s] expected and with vaccines. “
Tureci’s comments come after Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in an April 15 interview that people will likely need a booster vaccine or a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months. at full vaccination. He also said that people may have to take additional photos every year.
Pfizer said earlier this month that its Covid-19 vaccine was more than 91% effective in protecting against the virus and more than 95% effective against severe diseases up to six months after the second dose. The Moderna vaccine, which uses technology similar to Pfizer’s, has also been shown to remain extremely effective at six months.
Researchers say they still don’t know how long the protection against the virus will last six months after full vaccination, although public health officials and health experts expect protection to decline after some time.
Should Americans need booster shots, the US government should likely make arrangements with drug manufacturers to provide additional doses and make plans for vaccine distribution.
On Friday, Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to President Joe Biden’s Covid response team, said the Biden administration is preparing for the potential need for booster vaccines with the Covid-19 vaccine. He said the administration had considered the need to provide additional doses.
“I can assure you that when we do our planning, when the president orders the purchase of additional vaccines as he did, and when we focus on all the opportunities to expand production that we’re talking about here, we have a lot of scenarios like this in mind. , ” he said.
Last week, the scientific director of the Bov administration’s Covid response, David Kessler, said Americans should expect to receive booster shots to protect themselves against coronavirus variants. He told US lawmakers that the currently authorized vaccines were extremely protective, but said the new options could “challenge” the effectiveness of the fires.
“We don’t know everything right now,” he told the House Select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis.
“We’re studying the durability of the antibody response,” he said. “It sounds strong, but there’s a slight decrease in that, and no doubt the variations cause … they make these vaccines harder to work with. So I think for planning purposes, just for planning purposes, I think they would we have to expect momentum. “
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC last week that the company hopes to have an autumn for its two-dose vaccine.