Moderna: Vaccine Protection Against COVID-19 Decreases Over Time

Moderna announced in a press release that new data from a large trial of its COVID-19 vaccine indicates that the protection it offers diminishes over time, which "supports its request for a third booster dose." Moderna's CEO, Stéphane Bancel, stated during a conference call with investors, "This is just one estimate, but we firmly believe this is necessary as we approach the fall and winter seasons. We expect that the estimated impact of waning immunity will result in at least an additional 600,000 cases of COVID-19." Bancel did not predict how many cases would be severe but mentioned that "some will require hospitalization." This data sharply contrasts with other recent studies suggesting that the protection from the Moderna vaccine lasts longer than that of the Pfizer vaccine. On September 1, Moderna submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for authorization of a booster dose. Bancel stated that "data from the company's studies on the booster dose shows that the vaccine can increase antibodies to levels higher than those observed after the second dose." He added, "We believe this will reduce cases of COVID-19... and we also believe that a third dose... will extend immunity over a significant portion of next year as we work to end the pandemic."