VOA News
The COVID-19 vaccine could become an annual injection, like the flu shot, according to the head of a pharmaceutical giant and the chief science officer of the U.S. pandemic response.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during a pre-recorded conversation hosted by CVS Heath Corporation that “The Covid virus looks more like the influenza virus than the polio virus.” The polio shot is generally a childhood inoculation, while the flu shot is administered every year.
More research is needed, Bourla said, but the “likely scenario” will be a third dose of the current shots “somewhere between six and 12 months, and from there it would be an annual re-vaccination.”
Similarly, David Kessler, working with the White House COVID response, told lawmakers Thursday at a House subcommittee hearing that the U.S. should plan for COVID booster shots.
Kessler said the Biden administration is still “studying the durability of the antibody response,” following vaccinations, but “I think we should expect that we may have to boost.” VOA/AG-jlo
