The CEO of AstraZeneca said immunity from a coronavirus vaccine may only last for a year, which means people would need annual inoculations to protect themselves from the virus.
Pascal Soriot told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Thursday that one vaccine will likely not be enough.
"What we know is that most companies are targeting two injections for the initial vaccination and then our own assumption based on what we know from the technology we use with SARS 1 is that the immunity could last 12 months, maybe 18 months," he said.
"But the truth is that we don't know, this virus is very unpredictable."
AstraZeneca is one of several dozen companies working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine as the pandemic continues to ravage the world. The company's goal is to make 2 billion vaccine doses, which will be spread to various countries. The United States, for example, would receive 400 million doses.
AstraZeneca's vaccine has shown promising results so far.
Soriot said there could be a finished product ready to be administered to the general public by the fall.
"If it does work, we will be able to start supplying the vaccine in October, November, and our goal is to supply everyone around the world at the same time," he told CNBC.
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