Pfizer‘s CEO said a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot will be needed to keep immunity strong against the virus.
Albert Bourla told host Margaret Brennan during a segment on CBS‘s Face the Nation on Sunday that Pfizer is submitting relevant information to the Food and Drug Administration.
“Right now, the way that we have seen, it is necessary, a fourth booster right now,” Bourla said. “The protection that you are getting from the third, it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths.”
A booster shot is good in providing immunity for certain things but is “not that good against infections,” Bourla continued, adding that the immunity it does provide against the virus “doesn’t last very long.”
“We are just submitting those data to the FDA, and then, we will see what the experts also will say outside Pfizer,” Bourla said.
Bourla also said, “I think so,” when asked if he believes people should prepare to get a booster every year, similar to what is recommended with a flu shot.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine is a two-dose regimen, same as the vaccine from Moderna, while Johnson & Johnson has a one-shot vaccine. The CDC recommends anyone 12 years and older who received the Pfizer vaccine to get a booster after five months, recommending the Pfizer and Moderna versions; teenagers 12 to 17 may only get the Pfizer booster.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters on Feb. 9 that he believed “there may be a need for yet again another booster — in this case, a fourth-dose boost,” based on people’s age and underlying conditions.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Countries such as Sweden and Israel have already rolled out a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. An Israeli clinical study showed that the fourth dose had provided a limited protection against the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
More than 79 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States to date, while there have been a total of 966,361 coronavirus-related deaths, according to the New York Times Coronavirus Map and Tracker. According to the tracker, at least 77% of people in the U.S. are considered to be vaccinated or have gotten one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 65% are considered to be fully vaccinated.
