Will we have to get a Coronavirus vaccine every year?

On the French website LCI, netizens wondered whether vaccination against the Coronavirus would be necessary every year in the future.

This question is answered by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research expert Odile Lunay, an infectious disease specialist.

In his report, Thomas Despot says that to answer this question, Odile Lunay, coordinator of the Covireivac platform - which is the vaccine testing platform at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research - stated that "there is a difference between the Corona virus and the flu, against which we are partially revaccinating in order to Adapting to new strains. "

This specialist wonders, saying: “Since vaccines are authorized today, will we be required to vaccinate again to adapt our immune response?” Especially since the virus could mutate, and thus become “less targeted” in the future.

And there are mutant strains that have begun to emerge and lead to the question of "the extent of the viability of the immunity provided by the vaccines."

But the good news is that there is something called "immune memory," as Lunay states that some vaccines provide "longer protection" than others.

It is worth noting that virus mutations are a natural process, and that some mutations are able to transform vaccine targets that may be less effective.

Fortunately, unlike other viruses, the Corona virus mutates very slowly, which increases the chances that vaccines will be effective in the medium term.

"In the coming months, we will have more information that will allow us to do better in the future," Lunay said.

Mutant strains alter current data

The author shows that with a virus barely evolving, the vaccine can protect the population for long periods of time, but the emergence of mutated strains changes the current data.

Lunay states, "The AstraZeneca vaccine appears to be less effective against the South African strain, while the mRNA vaccine or the one developed by the Janssen laboratory maintains the same efficacy."

In the future, it is quite possible to schedule booster doses of the vaccination at regular intervals.

“It is true that we have concerns today about the capacity that vaccination must guarantee for long-term protection, especially since mutated strains are likely to change the situation.” However, we are talking about vaccines that are more effective than those against influenza, as they provide a higher level of protection, As well as concentrations of antibodies against the virus thanks to the vaccine, "which means that annual booster doses of vaccination will not be necessary.

It is quite possible that there will be a time lag between the first vaccination and the booster doses of the vaccination.

Odile Lunay states that "booster doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccination" are administered "every 20 or 10 years".

Depending on age and immunity, these booster doses of vaccination could be more time-matched.

Within the framework of the currently available information, this specialist believes that "no one can predict the exact impact of the vaccines distributed today, as" the challenge is the ability to vaccinate a large part of the population. "

The research scientist is working hard to develop effective vaccines, especially in the long term.

The same source adds that "work is underway to develop vaccines that adapt to the mutated strains, but we also note that researchers are working on second-generation vaccines, which will try to develop immunity that targets other parts of the virus that are less vulnerable to mutations."

Lunay also does not rule out the possibility of a treatment emerging, although "research in the field of antiviral drugs is usually lengthy."

Booster doses

At present, "no antiviral drug has shown to be effective against the virus," but it can be obtained someday.

In short, it is likely that booster doses of vaccination will be necessary in the future to protect against the Corona virus, which is the hypothesis expected with the development of mutated strains that may reduce the effectiveness of existing vaccines.

On the other hand, it is too early to confirm this, just as it is difficult to predict how often the booster doses of vaccination will be beneficial and recommended.