"COVID-19 Vaccine, Increasing Likelihood of Annual Vaccination"... Expert Opinions

FDA Advisory Committee Meeting on the 6th of Next Month

Vaccination. /Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] As COVID-19 is becoming endemic worldwide, there is a growing prospect that vaccines may need to be administered more than once a year.

According to the US CNN on the 21st (local time), some medical experts stated that, similar to the flu, the system for preventing COVID-19 infection through annual vaccination is increasingly likely to be established.

Archana Chatterjee, a member of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on vaccines and biological products (VRBPAC) and a professor at Rosalind Franklin University College of Medicine, said, "To keep COVID-19 under control, some form of regular vaccination may be necessary."

She added, "At present, it is unclear whether it will be once a year, once every two years, or once every five years. I believe a conclusion will be drawn as more data is collected."

Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, also appeared on CBS on the 20th and said, "I think the COVID-19 vaccine is heading toward becoming a vaccine that is administered annually, at least in the near future."

He continued, "In terms of providing meaningful protection against symptoms or infection, this is exactly a '6-month vaccine.' This is likely to become an annual vaccine for the majority of Americans."

In this regard, VRBPAC is scheduled to hold a meeting on the 6th of next month to discuss future policies related to COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, CNN reported.

Officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will also participate in the meeting to address agenda items such as 'whether additional COVID-19 vaccine doses are necessary' and 'if so, how frequently additional doses should be administered.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.