• Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, stated that the company was currently working on a booster for its coronavirus vaccination.
• He said that the booster will be available in the fall, and it will target Omicron variants.
• He said that it was important to "try to stay ahead" of viruses and not fall behind them, as he stated to CNBC.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said Monday that the company is currently working on a booster shot to its coronavirus vaccine, which would be effective against the Omicron strain of the disease.

Bancel stated Monday that the booster shot will soon be in clinical trials and would be available for distribution by fall, during an interview on CNBC's "SquawkBox."

He said, "We are currently discussing with public health professionals around the globe to determine what we believe is the best strategy to boost the fall of 2022." "We believe it will include Omicron."

Moderna was still deliberating if booster components were needed.

He said, "We must be careful to try and stay ahead of viruses and not behind them."

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, also stated Monday that the company was developing a new shot to combat Omicron variant.

Bourla stated to CNBC that the vaccine would be available in March.

Omicron has triggered a global surge in COVID-19.

Marianne Guenot, Insider's reporter, reported that although the vaccines have shown less effectiveness in Omicron transmission prevention than previous trains like the Delta variant, they still provide protection against hospitalization.

One dose of COVID-19 vaccine lowered the chance of hospitalization by 52% in a UK study. This was compared to people who were not vaccinated. Insider reported that hospitalizations were reduced by 72% with two doses and by 88% with three.

Bancel said Monday to CNBC that Moderna had made agreements with several countries including South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to supply booster doses for the fall. He stated that the company could supply booster doses of between 2 billion and 3 billion this year.

Omicron variant seems to cause milder infections than other coronavirus strains, but Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director of World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned against defining the disease as "mild."

He said that Omicron, just like other variants, is hospitalizing people and is even killing them.

According to the latest estimates by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Omicron variant is responsible for approximately 95% of all COVID-19 cases currently reported in the country.