{"id":145141,"date":"2022-01-18T19:07:14","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T23:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=145141"},"modified":"2022-01-18T19:07:14","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T23:07:14","slug":"covid-19-vaccine-makers-plan-for-annual-boosters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/covid-19-vaccine-makers-plan-for-annual-boosters\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Plan for Annual Boosters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

COVID-19 vaccines will be here for the long-term, and could become part of the annual range of booster shots offered, leading vaccine makers predicted on Monday.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

COVID-19 mRNA vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer are each working on new versions of their jabs geared towards tackling the Omicron variant, company bosses said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Monday, Moderna CEO St\u00e9phane Bancel said his company planned to offer a seasonal booster shot that would cover COVID-19 as well as other respiratory illnesses like flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

“Our goal is to be able to have a single annual booster so that we don’t have compliance issues where people don’t want to get two to three shots a winter, but they get one dose where they get a booster for corona, a booster for flu and RSV,” Bancel said.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Fabrice
The Moderna CEO was speaking at a virtual editiuon of the annual World Economic Forum<\/span>Fabrice COFFRINI \/ AFP<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Asked when the COVID-flu-RSV booster could be available, he responded that “a best case scenario would be the fall of 2023”.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

But Bancel also suggested that the issue of vaccine inequality could continue, saying of the estimated 2023 introduction for the combined booster: “I don’t think it will happen in every country”.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

‘No more restrictions after Omicron’<\/h2>\n

Also on Monday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla suggested that the current wave of Omicron could be the last of the COVID-19 pandemic to require restrictions on work and social life.<\/p>\n

\n