Vaccine Maker BioNTech’s Co-Founder Says We ‘Should Not Live In Fear’ Of Virus

Coronavirus may be sticking around for years, according to the co-founder and chief medical official at COVID vaccine maker BioNTech (BNTX).

Dr. Ozlem Tureci made the comments on “The CNBC Conversation” on Thursday, saying that the world “should not live in fear” of the virus.

“COVID will become manageable. It already has started to become manageable,” she added.

BioNTech has partnered with Pfizer in producing the COVID vaccine, which was approved for individuals 12 and older in late August. The drugmakers have also received authorization for a booster shot for people 65 and older and for those that work in high-risk settings as well as those in long-term care facilities and Americans with underlying health conditions.

They are seeking authorization of a vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, which is expected to come in October.

Tureci told “The CNBC Conversation” that we will “need to go back to a new normality, because this virus will accompany us for, still, some years.”

But she maintained that BioNTech will “continuously assess" any future virus variants.

“For all these variants which are currently circulating, it seems that boosters alone, bringing the waning immune responses back to high levels, are suitable and do protect,” she said. “However, we have to continue to screen because there might be variants upcoming for which this is not the case. And for this we have a second pillar, namely that we prepare ourselves to be quick and fast in the case that we need to adapt to a variant. And we are doing those dry runs, not alone, together with regulators, so that they are also prepared for the potential need to switch.”

Tureci foresees booster shots being administered to fight the virus “every 12 to 18 months,” she told the news outlet.

COVID vaccine maker Moderna’s Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, as reported by Reuters, that he believes the pandemic will be over in a year based on vaccine production increasing to levels where there is enough to ensure global supply.

He told the news outlet last week, “If you look at the industry-wide expansion of production capacities over the past six months, enough doses should be available by the middle of next year so that everyone on this Earth can be vaccinated. Boosters should also be possible to the extent required.”

As of Thursday's premarket hours, shares of BioNTech were trading at $280.12, up $2.68, or 0.97%.