COVID Vaccines Could be An Annual Thing
Posted on 02/10/2021
Like the flu shot, taking a COVID vaccine could be an annual activity, according to a number of pharmaceutical CEOs. Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told CNBC on February 9, 2021, said that people may need to get vaccinated against COVID-19 annually, just like seasonal flu shots, over the next several years.
“Unfortunately, as [the virus] spreads it can also mutate,” Alex Gorsky told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell during a Healthy Returns Spotlight event. “Every time it mutates, 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 its ability to fend off antibodies or to have a different kind of response not only to a therapeutic but also to a vaccine.”
Earlier in the month, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, during a panel discussion at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, said, “We are going to live with this virus, we think, forever.”
Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines require two doses given about three to four weeks apart. Johnson & Johnson’s only requires one dose.
WHO
On another note, in January 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidance about Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. The WHO recommends generally against the use of the vaccine during pregnancy except for those at high risk of exposure or having a severe case. The WHO recommendation echoes that for the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE vaccine.
“In the interim, WHO recommends not to use mRNA-1273 in pregnancy, unless the benefit of vaccinating a pregnant woman outweighs the potential vaccine risks, such as in health workers at high risk of exposure and pregnant women with co-morbidities placing them in a high-risk group for severe Covid-19,” the guidance said.