MODERNA CEO SAYS PEOPLE MAY NEED ANOTHER BOOSTER IN FALL OF 2022

A pharmacist holds a vial of the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in West Haven, Connecticut, U.S., February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The effectiveness of COVID-19 boosters  is likely to wane in the coming months, and people may need another shot in the fall of 2022, Moderna Inc CEO Stéphane Bancel told a  conference on Thursday on health conference organized by Goldman Sachs. 

Bancel said the company is working on a  vaccine candidate for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but it is unlikely to be available in the next two months.

“I still believe we’re going to need boosters in the fall of ’22 and forward,” Bancel said.

His comments on needing a fourth shot come on the back of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett citing a study on Tuesday that a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibodies five-fold a week after the shot is administered.

Moderna, which benefits by repeat inoculations, during its third quarter earnings results said commercial booster market sales could be up to $2 billion in the United States in 2022