Moderna's top doctor suggests that you may still require an omicron-specific vaccine after the current Covid surge subsides.

According to Moderna's top doctor, an omicron-specific vaccine is likely to become the Covid immunization that you receive alongside your annual flu shot.

Both Moderna and Pfizer are currently conducting clinical trials for vaccines against the Covid-19 omicron variant, which was first reported in the US less than two months ago. Moderna recently announced that it had begun Phase 2 of its trial and administered the first dose to a human participant last week.

The shots aren't intended to be a quick fix, so unvaccinated or un-boosted individuals should not wait for their arrival. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published last week, standard Covid boosters from both Pfizer and Moderna are 90% effective against hospitalizations from omicron infections.

According to Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Paul Burton, the omicron-specific vaccines are intended as a long-term solution against Covid because both omicron and the delta variant are expected to persist as endemic virus strains, as reported by CNBC Make It.

Delta and Omicron are likely to remain a threat in the fall of 2022, with delta being particularly dangerous due to its ability to infect a large number of people.

Omicron has become the dominant Covid variant in the country since December, with a single-day record of nearly 1.5 million new cases on Jan. 11. Although the current vaccine-and-booster regimens protect against hospitalizations from omicron infections, they don’t protect nearly as well against the infections themselves.

In December, a Danish study revealed that two doses of Moderna's vaccine were 36.7% effective against omicron, compared to 55.2% for Pfizer. However, the effectiveness of both vaccines decreased over the next five months. Specifically, a third Pfizer dose administered 14 to 44 days after the second shot only restored protection to 56.4% in people aged 60 or older.

Palle Valentiner-Branth, one of the study's authors, informed Reuters that the protection against omicron decreases faster and is lower after a primary vaccination course compared to the delta variant.

According to Burton, Omicron-specific vaccines will offer greater protection against the highly contagious variant, which may persist for an extended period. He predicts that cases will decrease, but it will remain a persistent threat.

Experts caution that while delta is less transmissible but causes more severe symptoms, it will continue to coexist with omicron once Covid shifts from pandemic to endemic. However, Burton asserts that a delta-specific vaccine is not necessary as Moderna's standard Covid vaccine, mRNA-1273, already offers "excellent protection" against delta.

According to Burton, 1273 offers protection against the original strain, which is rarely mentioned nowadays, and provides excellent defense against delta. He adds that multiple independent studies conducted over the past six months have confirmed these claims.

According to a study published on Dec. 15 in The British Medical Journal, two doses of Moderna's Covid vaccine were 94% effective against delta infections in the first two months after vaccination, and 80% effective after six months. Additionally, the study found that protection against hospitalization remained high, at 98%.

Pfizer's Covid vaccine was 93% effective against delta a month after the second dose, but only 53% effective after four months. Its protection against delta-related hospitalization also remained high, at 93%.

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