Annual COVID-19 Vaccine?

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

The CEO of Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that people may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 annually for the next several years; similar to seasonal flu shots. “Unfortunately, as the virus spreads, it can also mutate,” Alex Gorsky said in an interview on CNBS. “Every time it mutates, it’s almost like another click of the dial, so to speak, where we can see another variant, another mutation that can have an impact on its ability to fend of antibodies or to have a different kind of response not only to a therapeutic but also to a vaccine”, he added.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said COVID-19 may become “endemic”, meaning it will be constantly part of communities. “I doubt we’re going to eradicate this”, Fauci said at a virtual health conference, “I think we need to plan that this is something we may need to maintain control over chronically”.

Whatever the experts tell us, we need to heed their warnings. Would it be so horrible to have an additional vaccine annually? Probably not, especially if it helps prevent a repeat of the pandemic of 2020! Stay the course, stay well, mask up, get vaccinated, and stay tuned!