People may need another COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in fall of 2022: Moderna CEO

The efficacy of boosters against COVID-19 is likely to decline over the next few months, and people may need another shot in the fall of 2022, Stephane Bancel, CEO, Moderna, said at a Goldman Sachs-organised healthcare conference recently.

Bancel said that the company is working on a vaccine candidate tailored to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but 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 of late 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 that commercial booster market sales could be up to $2 billion in the US in 2022.