At the moment, most Americans are still waiting for their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The growing research has shown that both the approved vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer – and one from Johnson & Johnson awaiting approval – are highly effective in protecting against the disease. But getting a COVID vaccine this year may not offer the kind of protection that keeps you safe forever, according to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. He recently told NBC News that the photos may need to become a regular event. Read on to see what the executive has to say about the future vaccine schedule and to learn more about what other immunizations may already be doing for you, check out This other vaccine may already be protecting you from COVID, says the study.
In an interview with NBC News’ Lester HoltBourla discussed ongoing trials for a potential third dose of the Pfizer vaccine to make it more effective against mutant versions of the virus, including the highly transmissible South African variant. He stressed that these mutations are the nature of viruses and are the reason why annual vaccines are needed.
“Every year, you need to get the flu shot,” said Bourla. “It will be the same with COVID. In one year, you will have to get your annual injection for COVID to be protected.” And for more vaccine news, check out the CDC says it won’t do that within 2 weeks of its COVID vaccine.
Still, other experts point out that the real time between shots must be determined. “You need to launch a wide network to find Goldilocks,” John Grabenstein, PhD, former executive director of medical affairs for vaccines at Merck and a former Department of Defense immunologist, told NBC News. “You want to look at shorter intervals, you want to look at longer intervals, to determine when is the best time, if necessary, to revaccate.”
At the moment, Pfizer’s booster injection tests are testing patients whose first dose was six months to a year ago. And for more information on the new guidelines for once you have vaccinated, see The CDC Says You Don’t Need To Do This More After Being Vaccinated.
But Bourla is not alone in saying that SARS-CoV-2 will become an annual enemy. In January, CNBC reported that, during a panel discussion at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, the CEO of Moderna Stéphane Bancel predicted what he believed would be the future of COVID.
“SARS-CoV-2 is not going to go away,” said Bancel, which means that the virus would become “endemic” and circulate permanently at low levels, although it rarely caused serious illness. “We are going to live with this virus, we think, forever.” And for more COVID news sent straight to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
To help predict the trajectory of COVID, a study published in Science in January, he created a model that found that “once the endemic phase is reached and the primary exposure is in childhood, CoV-2 may not be more virulent than the common cold.” Future interactions with the virus would not come close to the serious threat it now poses. The researchers are confident that it will end up being harmless, except for an emerging strain that causes serious illness in children.
COVID-19 is doing a lot of damage because very few people have immunity to the foreign pathogen, but it will likely become an endemic disease once most people are vaccinated or exposed to the virus. And to learn more about the future of the virus, see When the COVID pandemic will be completely over, experts say.