As the coronavirus pandemic continues past its first year, there’s been questions regarding if the vaccines may have to change. 

Dallas County Health Department Public Information Officer Ann Cochran says it isn’t exactly known yet what would happen if the coronavirus continues to alter annually,  much like the flu. Cochran notes more information needs to be gathered. 

“As researchers continue to study both the virus and the vaccine we’ll learn more about whether annual action will be needed or not. Again, we have to say this is a novel coronavirus, we have never been through this before. We are monitoring it every step of the way.”

Cochran tells Raccoon Valley Radio that coronaviruses don’t mutate as quickly as other viruses like influenza but it is possible for COVID-19 to mutate. Also, Cochran notes that all three available COVID-19 vaccines prevent people from getting severely ill from the virus.