The chief executive officer of Moderna said he anticipates people will need a second COVID-19 booster shot this fall as the vaccine’s efficacy wanes over the next few months.

Stephane Bancel, speaking at a Goldman Sachs-organized health care conference Thursday, said Moderna is working on a booster shot focused on the Omicron variant of COVID-19, though it’s unlikely it will become available in the next two months.

“I still believe we’re going to need boosters in the fall of ’22 and forward,” Bancel said.

A new study from Israel showed that a fourth dose of the vaccine boosts antibodies five-fold, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Tuesday. The country has already begun dosing immunocompromised individuals.

Moderna announced during its third-quarter earnings results that commercial booster market sales could reach $2 billion in the United States in 2022.

With Post wires