US preparing for 1-year Covid-19 booster shots
While the duration of immunity after vaccination is being studied, booster vaccines could be needed, David Kessler, chief science officer for President Joe Biden's Covid-19 response task force told a congressional committee meeting.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla said people will 'likely' need a third booster dose of Covid-19 vaccines within 12 months and could need annual shots, CNBC reported based on his comments from April 1, which were made public on Thursday.
Initial data has shown that vaccines from Moderna Inc and partners Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE retain most of their effectiveness for at least six months, though for how much longer has not been determined.
Even if that protection lasts far longer than six months, experts have said that rapidly spreading variants of the coronavirus and others that may emerge could lead to the need for regular booster shots similar to annual flu shots.
The United States is also tracking infections in people who have been fully vaccinated, Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention told the House subcommittee hearing.
Of 77 million people vaccinated in the United States, there have been 5,800 such breakthrough infections, Walensky said, including 396 people who required hospitalization and 74 who died.
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