A third dose may need to be given to people who have already been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine within 12 months, and may need to be vaccinated each year, led by Albert Burla.
"There will probably be a need for a third dose somewhere between 6 and 12 months and beyond, there will be an annual vaccination," Burla told CVS Health, with those statements coming to light on Thursday.
According to the Financial Times, Burla's comments came as US health officials testified before Congress about controlling the spread of the virus after the pandemic subsided.
David Kessler, head of the White House anti-coronavirus task force, told a committee: "I think we have to wait and see if we can get a boost… and certainly those who are most vulnerable will have priority.
But I think you can have that with a lot of vaccines, I understand that at a certain point in time we need to step up, whether it is in 9 months, in 12 months, and we are preparing for that. "
Data from Pfizer and BioNTech earlier this month showed that their mRNA vaccine was 91% effective against coronavirus six months after the second dose. "Protection decreases over time, but again in six months it is extremely, extremely high," Burla said.
In February, the two companies began testing for a third dose in fully vaccinated people 6 to 12 months after the second dose, to understand the effect of a booster dose on immunity and new strains of the virus.
According to CNBC, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said in February that people may need to be vaccinated against covid-19 annually, as with the flu.
Researchers do not yet know how long protection against the virus lasts when someone is fully vaccinated.
Source: Newsbeast.gr