Former FDA chief: We might not need COVID-19 boosters forever

The former head of the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said people might not need COVID-19 booster shots on a recurring basis, citing the ability’s body to build a long-lasting immune response after a jumpstart from vaccines.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb weighed in amid a debate about whether people who were vaccinated early will need a third shot, even as the U.S. and other countries push to get initial doses into their populations.

“It’s not clear that we’re going to need boosters forever,” he told CNBC. “It could be the case that after you give a third dose to people they get a much more durable response and it’s a multi-year response and you’re not boosting constantly. We just don’t know yet.”