"If you look at the industry-wide expansion of production
capacities over the past six months, enough doses should be available by the
middle of next year so that everyone on this earth can be vaccinated. Boosters
should also be possible to the extent required," he told the newspaper in
an interview.
Vaccinations would soon be available even for infants, he
said.
"Those who do not get vaccinated will immunize
themselves naturally, because the Delta variant is so contagious. In this way
we will end up in a situation similar to that of the flu. You can either get
vaccinated and have a good winter. Or you don't do it and risk getting sick and
possibly even ending up in hospital."
Asked if that meant a return to normal in the second half of
next year, he said: "As of today, in a year, I assume."
Bancel said he expected governments to approve booster shots
for people already vaccinated because patients at risk who were vaccinated last
autumn "undoubtedly" needed a refresher.
Its booster shot had half the dose of the original dose,
which meant more of them would be available.
"The volume of vaccine is the biggest limiting factor.
With half the dose, we would have 3 billion doses available worldwide for the
coming year instead of just 2 billion," he said.
The composition of the booster shot remains the same as the
original for this year because Moderna had not had enough time to change it.
"We are currently testing Delta-optimized variants in
clinical trials. They will form the basis for the booster vaccination for 2022.
We are also trying out Delta plus Beta, the next mutation that scientists
believe is likely."
Moderna can use existing production lines for the new
variants as for the original COVID-19 vaccine. The price of vaccination will
stay the same, he said.
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