Pharma, US Government Plan for COVID-19 Booster Shots

It’s unclear how long protections against infection will last from the initial vaccinations, and health authorities say additional jabs will likely be necessary.

Written byJef Akst

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To stay protected against COVID-19, people may need booster shots within 12 months of receiving their initial vaccinations, David Kessler, the chief science officer for President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 response task force, said at a congressional committee meeting on Thursday (April 15), Reuters reports. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla agrees with that timeline, according to comments he made to CNBC earlier this month.

So far, the evidence suggests that Pfizer/BioNTech’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines will protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection for at least six months. Beyond that, the data simply aren’t available yet.

“Unfortunately, many people have misunderstood that to mean that it lasts only six months, [when] all that information means is that we know that it lasts six months, and we expect it to last longer,” allergist and clinical immunologist Susan Bailey, the president of the American Medical Association, tells National Geographic.

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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