“2022 could be the year when the pandemic enters an endemic phase, but it depends on what happens and the decisions that are made around the world.” This is what the co-founder of Moderna Inc. Noubar Afeyan said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Afeyan explained how omicron is highly transmissible, but it is also having a minor effect in terms of disease severity.
Moderna is working on a specific booster dose for omicron. Moderna said earlier this week that it has signed vaccine purchase deals worth $ 18.5 billion for this year, along with options for another $ 3.5 billion, including booster shots.
In recent days, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez, as well as Bill Gates, had ignited the debate about the possibility of starting to treat Covid-19 as an endemic disease rather than a pandemic, bringing monitoring closer to the model used for influenza.
Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) said, however, that it is premature to talk about this as cases increase worldwide.