Moderna has said it expects the pandemic to end this year but forecast that a seasonal booster shot will be needed in the autumn to protect people from “breakthrough” Covid-19 infections.
The US drugmaker said on Thursday that it is developing a new bivalent booster combining its existing Spikevax Covid-19 vaccine and an Omicron specific booster, which it believes would provide more durable protection against coronavirus variants than its existing jab.
It is also pushing ahead with clinical trials of a combination Covid-19 and flu vaccine and other drug candidates — a move that comes amid investor concerns about future Spikevax sales owing to competition from new vaccines and Covid-19 entering an endemic phase.