Pandemic could be over next year: Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel

• Stephane Bancel says increasing vaccine production capacity will ensure vaccine availability for entire global population. 
• Assumes things could leap back to normalcy "in a year".
• Says Moderna is testing a “Delta-optimised variant” of the vaccine.

Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel believes that the coronavirus pandemic could end in a year as the production of vaccines ramps up to meet global demand, Forbes reported Thursday citing an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

Bancel said in the interview that expanding vaccine production will help ensure that enough doses are available to inoculate the entire global population by the mid of 2022.

While responding to a question on how soon he thinks things could leap back to normalcy, Bancel said: “In a year, I assume.”

The pharmaceutical executive pointed out that even people who don’t prefer getting vaccinated may “immunise themselves naturally” by that time with the highly contagious delta variant spreading fast across the globe.

“The people who get vaccinated will enjoy a good winter while those who don’t will live with the risk of getting sick or even being hospitalised due to the variant,” predicted Bancel.

He said that he feels that people would require a booster jab soon and the company's version will contain half the amount of the original formulation.

He told that Moderna is also testing a “Delta-optimised variant” of the vaccine that will serve as the foundation for booster shots in 2022.