After J&J and Pfizer, BioNTech's scientist says the third shot of COVID-19 vaccine may be needed

After J&J and Pfizer, BioNTech's scientist says the third shot of COVID-19 vaccine may be needed

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Thursday, April 22, 2021, 12:37 PM IST
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Dr. Ozlem Tureci, co-founder and CMO (chief medical officer) of BioNTech | released by BioNTech

Echoing the view of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, BioNTech’s scientist stated that a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine may actually be a three-dose vaccine to wane the COVID-19 virus and build immunity.

Pfizer and BioNTech have collaborated for developing COVID-19’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate.

Dr. Ozlem Tureci, co-founder and CMO (chief medical officer) of BioNTech, said, “We see indications for this also in the induced, but also the natural immune response against SARS-COV-2. She said this during an interview with CNBC’s Kelly Evans on “The Exchange.”

She added, “We see this waning of immune responses also in people who were just infected and therefore [it’s] also expected with the vaccines.”

This follows the recent comment by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. In the past, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky stated that people may need to get vaccinated against COVID-19 annually, just like seasonal flu shots.


In a conversation that was taped on April 1, Bourla was heard saying that people will likely need a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated. This taped conversation was made public on Thursday. He went on to add that it is possible people will need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus annually, stated a report by CNBC.


“A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role,” he told CNBC.

Meanwhile, it is stated that there no clarity yet on how long can the vaccination protect an inoculated individual.

Meanwhile, Pfizer said that its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 91 per cent effective at protecting against the coronavirus and more than 95 per cent effective up to six months after the second dose. Moderna’s vaccine was also shown to be highly effective at six months.

As of April 22, India’s cumulative vaccination coverage exceeds the vaccination mark of 13.23 crore. At present, Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin have been administered to the Indian population. The third vaccine to get approval in India is Sputnik V.

Other foreign players are also looking at ways to enter the Indian market after the Indian government allowed foreign vaccines in the country.

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