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 "If you look at the industry-wide expansion of production capacities
over the past six months, enough doses should be available by the
middle of next year so that everyone on this earth can be
vaccinated. Boosters should also be possible to the extent
required," he told the newspaper in an interview.
Vaccinations would soon be available even for infants, he said.
"Those who do not get vaccinated will immunize themselves naturally,
because the Delta variant is so contagious. In this way we will end
up in a situation similar to that of the flu. You can either get
vaccinated and have a good winter. Or you don't do it and risk
getting sick and possibly even ending up in hospital."
Asked if that meant a return to normal in the second half of next
year, he said: "As of today, in a year, I assume."
Bancel said he expected governments to approve booster shots for
people already vaccinated because patients at risk who were
vaccinated last autumn "undoubtedly" needed a refresher.
Its booster shot had half the dose of the original dose, which meant
more of them would be available.
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 "The volume of vaccine is the
biggest limiting factor. With half the dose, we
would have 3 billion doses available worldwide
for the coming year instead of just 2 billion,"
he said.
The composition of the booster shot remains the
same as the original for this year because
Moderna had not had enough time to change it.
"We are currently testing Delta-optimized
variants in clinical trials. They will form the
basis for the booster vaccination for 2022. We
are also trying out Delta plus Beta, the next
mutation that scientists believe is likely."
Moderna can use existing production lines for
the new variants as for the original COVID-19
vaccine. The price of vaccination will stay the
same, he said.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
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