The CEO of Moderna on Thursday made a bold prediction about the amount of immunity that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine could offer, suggesting that the recently approved vaccine could provide protection for up to several years.
“The nightmare scenario described in the spring with a vaccine that only works for a month or two is, in my opinion, out the window,” Stepherna Bancel, CEO of Moderna, told Reuters during an Oddo BHF event.
“The decay of the antibodies caused by the vaccine in humans is going down very slowly,” he said. “We believe there may be some years of protection.”
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He also said that the company has received 500 million doses of vaccine from countries around the world. Moderna is currently approved in the US, UK and from Wednesday the European Union. Data in the late-stage clinical trial showed that the vaccine was 94.1% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease among participants.
The Moderna vaccine is given in two doses that are 28 days apart.
((AP Photo / Charlie Riedel))
Lasting immunity was a question mark for the COVID-19 vaccines developed in less than one year. Research into how long the vaccinations may last continues, but it is too early to say for sure. It is also too early to know what impact the vaccines will have on the transmission.
Earlier this week, several federal officials planned to issue half doses of the vaccine in an effort to speed up vaccination and expand supply, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the move was a “significant” risk to the health of the “and does not have proper data.
Dr Moncef Slaoui, chief medical adviser for Operation Warp Speed, predicted last month that the vaccines could offer up to three years of protection.
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“My expectation is that the prevention of diseases by these vaccines will take quite a long time, maybe prevention of infection to the level we see, maybe shorter duration, maybe three, four, six months,” Slaoui said earlier on “Andrea Mitchell . Reports.” “When disease prevention, in my humble opinion as an expert, is probably going to take a year or two, three years.”
Foxla’s Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.