Certain groups of people are likely to benefit from the fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna President Stephen Hoge said on Monday.
The elderly and the immunocompromised are recommended to receive a fourth shot of the vaccine, he said.
He pointed to cancer patients as an example of those who are at higher risk.
“For those who have cancer, COVID can actually be a life-threatening disease, even post-vaccination. I don’t think you want to mess around with that,” Hoge said.
The Moderna head said the rest of the public can decide for themselves whether they’d like a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Is it necessary? I think that’s a strong word. I think it will provide a benefit to anyone who gets it,” Hoge said.
“Whether or not public health continues to recommend it for everybody is a more complicated thing, because not everybody’s wanting to get the first couple ones,” he added.
Hoge said he intends to get a booster dose annually “because I don’t want to ever lose my sense of smell.”
“Long COVID sounds nasty,” he said.
His remarks come shortly after Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that a fourth shot will be required in order to provide protection against the virus.
“Variants are coming and Omicron was the first one...but also we know that the duration of the protection doesn’t last very long,“ Bourla told CBS’ ”Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“The protection we are getting from the third (dose) it is good enough—actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths,” Bourla said.
Bourla noted that protection against COVID-19 after receiving one booster dose is “not that good against infections” and “doesn’t last very long” against variants of the novel coronavirus such as Omicron.
“It is necessary, a fourth (dose) for right now,” Bourla added.
Bourla said the company is trying to develop a vaccine “that will protect against all variants, including Omicron, but also something that can protect for at least a year.”
“Omicron was the first one that was able to evade in a skillful way, the immune protection that we’re giving,” he said.
COVID-19 vaccines from both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 have been linked to rare cases of heart inflammation, particularly in young men. Several studies have suggested that Moderna’s vaccine is likely to cause heart inflammation of the heart muscle at a higher rate than Pfizer’s, Reuters reported.
