Moderna CEO talks about the fourth dose of the vaccine: it could arrive this year

The effectiveness of current COVID-19 boosters is likely to wane over time, according to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel. According to the executive’s statements, the population would need a fourth injection of the vaccine in the fall of 2022.

The population may need a fourth dose of the vaccines developed against COVID-19 in the fall of 2022 to strengthen their protection against the new coronavirus, according to statements by the CEO of Moderna, Stephane Bancel.

In his speech, which took place this very Thursday at the Goldman Sachs Health CEOs Conference, Bancel has pointed out that current vaccines are likely to protect through the winter amid a surge in cases with the omicron variant.

But its effectiveness will probably decrease in the coming months.

“I would hope it wouldn’t stay too high“, Bancel has warned about the reinforcement in time. “I still believe that we are going to need reinforcements in the fall of 2022 and beyond“.

Bancel’s statements coincide with those of Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, the other pharmaceutical company in charge of one of the messenger RNA vaccines against the coronavirus, who believes that a fourth dose may be needed sooner than expected after omicron onset.

According to the CEO of Moderna, people who are older, in higher-risk jobs, or have underlying health problems may need boosters every year.

His comments come just as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads across the globe, urging governments to push for booster vaccinations.

“First of all, we believe that this virus is not going to go away“, Bancel has warned, “we will have to live with it“.

Israel is now administering the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to those over 60 years of age.

Citing the preliminary results of an Israeli study, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has already celebrated this Tuesday that a fourth vaccine dose increases antibodies 5 times just a week after the puncture, according to Reuters.

Moderna has distributed some 800 million doses of its vaccine in 2021 developed against COVID-19 around the world, according to reports from the biotech in a paper to shareholders.

This article was published in Business Insider Spain by Kamila Barca.