The debate over how long currently approved vaccines will protect against the new coronavirus is ongoing, but at least one industry giant reportedly believes it could be an annual injection, similar to the flu shot, in the coming years.
“Unfortunately, like [the virus] spreads, it can also mutate, “Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson recently told CNBC.” Every time it mutates, it’s almost like a new click of a button so to speak, where we can see a different variant, another mutation that can impact its ability to repel antibodies or to create a Have a different kind of reaction, not only to a therapeutic agent, but also to a vaccine. “
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is pending emergency FDA approval, is a single-dose injection developed using an adenovirus rather than mRNA technology that Moderna and Pfizer rely on. Interestingly, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine showed 66% efficacy in a worldwide study, while the other two showed about 94% to 95% efficacy against the virus.
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The company also has a two-dose vaccine in the works, but research data is not expected until later this year, Gorsky told CNBC.
Both Moderna and Pfizer have assured that their vaccines can ward off coronavirus variants, although Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the South African variant could prove troublesome as it has been shown to have “clinical consequences.”
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Fauci said the variants should serve as a “wake-up call” to governments and companies currently developing vaccines that it is essential to be “nimble to adapt easily, make easy versions of the vaccine that actually specifically targeting any mutation is actually everywhere at any given time. “
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That said, Pfizer has previously touted the “flexibility” of its mRNA technology, allowing the product to be easily adapted if needed.