"Although it is true that the virus still does not behave like an endemic seasonal respiratory virus, like other endemic coronaviruses, we expect that vaccination campaigns will take place mainly once a year", said the head of Strategy for Biological Threats to Health and Vaccines, Marco Cavaleri, quoted by Efe news agency.
According to the EMA (European Medicines Agency), the best time of year to administer the vaccine against Covid-19 "will be the beginning of the cold season" (autumn), coinciding with the time for vaccines against other respiratory viruses (such as influenza).
For Marco Cavaleri, it would be reasonable to start thinking about "the direction of the flu paradigm, without prejudice to the uncertainties" that remain about the behaviour of SARS-CoV-2, since "repeated vaccination" against Covid-19 "may not be accepted by the general population".
In this regard, he insisted that "it will be better to consider scheduling the vaccine once a year" or "synchronizing it with that of other respiratory viruses".
The EMA "will continue to monitor the data over the coming months to determine the most appropriate criteria for the composition of vaccines" that will be used in the future against Covid-19.