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The probability that they will arise new variants of COVID-19 more dangerous than the current ones is about one in five, said the chief executive of the drugmaker Modern.
The most likely scenario is that vulnerable people, such as elderly and the immunocompromisedneed annual boosters to protect against variants that are similar in virulence to omicron, director Stéphane Bancel said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Modern is working to reassure investors of its long-term growth prospects as new cases decline following the winter spread of the omicron variant. However, the BA.2 subvariant of omicron continues to circulate, raising concerns about a resurgence and the emergence of new variants. variants of the virus with greater power to infect and sicken.
“I think there is a 80 percent chance that the variants that we are going to see in the future are manageable from the point of view of severity and the production of vaccines,” Bancel said in the interview. “But I think we always have to be very cautious, because there is a 20 percent chance of something very virulent happening in some of the new variants.”
Moderna has signed agreements for $21 billion in vaccine sales by 2022, compared to the 19 million announced in February, according to a statement published on Thursday. The company also said talks are underway for additional orders in 2022 and 2023 with countries around the world, including the United States.
This Wednesday, Moderna said that it would request the approval of its coronavirus vaccine in children under the age of 6 years later that the vaccine generated strong immune responses in a large pediatric trial. Getting clearance for younger children could present another opportunity for Moderna, as rival partners Pfizer and BioNTech have faced setbacks in their trials.
Bancel said the authorization of Moderna’s vaccine in very young children is more likely to come first in the United Kingdom or other countries abroad. Approval in young children could take a bit longer in the United States, where Moderna’s vaccine is not yet approved for children of any age, she added.
During Thursday’s virtual investor meeting, Moderna said interim data from a mid-stage trial of its first flu vaccine indicated it was safe and generated an immune response.
The results suggest that the experimental flu vaccine may be superior to existing vaccines against influenza A, the variant that accounts for the majority of cases in adults, officials said. The company also said it expects its combined flu and COVID vaccine to start human trials this year.
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