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Anthony Fauci is leaving his position as Presidential Advisor at the end of the year
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Patrick Semansky / dpa
The US immunologist Anthony Fauci expects future corona vaccinations to be as frequent as influenza vaccinations.
"It's becoming increasingly clear that, given the absence of a dramatically different variant, we are likely moving towards a vaccination frequency similar to that of the annual flu vaccine as we look at the Covid-19 pandemic," Fauci said.
The Covid-19 vaccination, which is expected to be updated annually, would be tailored to the currently circulating variants.
However, high-risk groups may need booster shots more frequently, Fauci added.
Booster vaccinations are due to start soon
Fauci, who is leaving his position as presidential adviser at the end of the year, urged the US public to get the drug injected.
It is central to optimal protection against Covid-19.
The responsible US authorities had approved two corona vaccines adapted to the omicron variant in the past few days.
The two preparations are so-called bivalent mRNA vaccines from the companies Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna.
They are adapted both to the original virus type and to the omicron sublines BA.4 and BA.5.
This distinguishes them from the Omicron vaccines, which are to be injected in Germany shortly.
These are adapted to subtype BA.1.
According to the information, the distribution of the doses has already begun in the USA.
The booster vaccinations should start this week and prevent a new wave in winter.
In an interview with SPIEGEL, Paul Burton, Chief Medical Officer at Moderna, also recently expressed the hope that one corona vaccination per year could be sufficient in the future.
svs/dpa/AFP
