According to Moderna’s CEO, Stephane Bancel, the company is aiming to bring to the market a combination of COVID-19 and influenza booster in the coming two years. In an official announcement made by him, the single-shot vaccine against the protection of COVID-19 and the common respiratory virus RSV will be made available before the 2023 winter season, which is often infectious.
Speaking at a session held at the World Economic Forum in the third week of January 2022, Bancel said that their company’s goal is to be able to provide a single booster to be taken annually, so there are no compliance issues where people have to go for two to three in a winter. In September 2021, Moderna which is a US-based company, first shared similar plans to develop a combined booster in one of its presentations to its investors. While making that presentation, Bancel had predicted that Moderna could be the company to benefit people with pan-respiratory and high-efficacy annual boosters.
During the recently held session, the CEO also confirmed that its vaccine candidate for action against the highly transmissible Omicron variant is scheduled to enter the clinical development cycle in the weeks to come,the data for which shall be shared with the regulators by March.
Most countries around the world are now rolling out booster shots of coronavirus vaccines in order to boost their citizens’ immunity. Bancel had opined earlier in January 2022 that a fourth inoculation could be required this year itself as the efficacy of the doses, including the two shots and the booster that have already been taken, declines. Significantly, Israel was one of the first countries to administer second booster doses to its vulnerable and high-risk population. A study conducted in the country has already suggested that the fourth COVID-19 shot impresses with a boost in antibodies against coronavirus but might not be enough against omicron.
