Moderna’s CEO made a bold prediction on Thursday about the amount of immunity his company’s COVID-19 vaccine can provide, suggesting that the recently approved vaccine may offer protection for up to a few years.
“The nightmare scenario that was described in the media in the spring with a vaccine running just a month or two is, I think, out of the window,” said Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, during an Oddo BHF event, according to Reuters .
“The decomposition of antibodies generated by the vaccine in humans decreases very slowly,” he said. “We believe that there will be potential protection for a few years.”
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He also said that the company has already received orders for 500 million doses of the vaccine from countries around the world. Moderna is currently approved in the USA, UK and, as of Wednesday, in the European Union. Data from end-stage clinical trials showed that the vaccine is 94.1% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease among participants.
Moderna’s vaccine is administered in two doses with an interval of 28 days.
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Lasting immunity has been a question mark for COVID-19 vaccines that were developed in less than a year. Research on how long vaccines can last is underway, but it is too early to definitively determine. It is also too early to know the impact that vaccines will have on transmission.
Earlier this week, several federal officials launched plans to issue half-doses of the vaccine in an effort to speed up inoculation efforts and extend delivery, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the move would be a “significant risk to public health, “and does not have adequate data.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief medical advisor to Operation Warp Speed, predicted last month that vaccines could offer protection for up to three years.
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“My expectation is that disease prevention by these vaccines will last a long time, perhaps preventing infection at the level we are seeing, perhaps shorter, perhaps lasting three, four, six months,” said Slaoui earlier in “Andrea Mitchell Reports. ” “When disease prevention, in my humble expert opinion, will probably last a year or two, three years.”
Fox News’s Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.