Fauci says COVID-19 booster shot likely needed ‘within a year or so”

A COVID-19 booster vaccine, when authorized, will likely be needed within a year following initial vaccination, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said Wednesday.

“I believe it likely will be within a year,” Fauci said during an Axios interview on vaccine rollout.

“We know that the vaccine durability of the efficacy lasts at least six months, and likely considerably more, but I think we will almost certainly require a booster sometime within a year or so after getting the primary,” Fauci said.

Fauci’s statement comes more than a month after Pfizer’s CEO announced a third dose would likely be needed within 12 months.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they were testing a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in February.

Moderna officials said a third dose given six to eight months after the first two doses has been shown to be effective against COVID-19 variants found in Brazil and Africa, NBC News reports.

The CEO of Johnson & Johnson said an annual dose of the vaccine may be needed similar to flu shots.

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