Stephane Bancel, the chief executive of the US-based pharmaceutical company Moderna, mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic could end in a year, as increased vaccine production provides global supply, he said:
“If you look at the expansion of manufacturing capacities in the industry over the last six months, there should be enough doses available by the middle of next year, so everyone in the world can be vaccinated.”
The CEO of Moderna told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung that soon vaccines will be available even for babies, pointing out that the Delta variant spreads very quickly, Bancel said: “We will face a flu-like situation. Either you get vaccinated, you have a good winter season or you risk getting sick and possibly even going to the hospital.”
After being asked if that meant a return to normal life in the second half of 2022 Bancel said: “As of today, I think in a year, we will turn to normal.”
“We are waiting for the approval of assistive vaccines.”
Bancel stressed that at-risk patients vaccinated last fall definitely need an assistive vaccine, he also stated that they are waiting for governments to approve assistive vaccines for people who were already vaccinated.
Mentioning that the booster vaccine will have half of the original dose, Bancel said: “The volume of the vaccine is the biggest limiting factor. With half the dose, we will have 3 billion doses worldwide next year instead of 2 billion.”
Bancel also noted that they tested Delta and Delta Plus variants in clinical trials for assistive vaccines.
