Moderna CEO says COVID-19 vaccine is likely to protect for ‘a few years’

Moderna’s CEO made a bold prediction Thursday on the level of immunity his company’s COVID-19 vaccine could offer, suggesting that the recently approved vaccine could offer protection for up to a few years.

“The nightmare scenario that was portrayed in the media in the spring with a vaccine only working for a month or two is, I think, out of the window,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, at an event Oddo BHF, according to Reuters.

“The disintegration of antibodies generated by the vaccine in humans decreases very slowly,” he said. “We think there will potentially be protection for a few years.”

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He also said the company has received orders for 500 million doses of the vaccine from countries around the world. Moderna is currently approved in the US, UK and starting Wednesday in the EU. Data from advanced clinical trials showed the vaccine to be 94.1% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease in participants.

Lasting immunity has been a question mark for the COVID-19 vaccines which were developed in less than a year. Research into the lifespan of vaccines is ongoing, but it is too early to definitively determine. It is also too early to know what impact vaccines will have on transmission.

Earlier this week, several federal officials launched plans to deliver half-doses of the vaccine in a bid to speed up inoculation efforts and expand supply, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that this decision would constitute a “significant risk to public health,” and lack of appropriate data.

Dr Moncef Slaoui, chief medical adviser for Operation Warp Speed, predicted last month that the vaccines could provide protection for up to three years.

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“I expect that disease prevention by these vaccines will last long enough, maybe infection prevention at the level that we are seeing, maybe of shorter duration, can last three, four, six months, “Slaoui said on” Andrea Mitchell Reports. ” “When disease prevention, IMHO as an expert, is probably going to last a year or two years, three years.”

Kayla Rivas of Fox News contributed to this report.