The CEO of Pfizer said Thursday that COVID-19 vaccine recipients will “likely” need a third dose six to 12 months after full vaccination and suggested that coronavirus vaccines be needed each year.
Albert Bourla told CNBC’s Bertha Coombs at a CVS Health event that predicts that, based on current data, a “likely scenario” will involve the COVID-19 vaccine being administered to patients annually.
Bourla said “it remains to be seen” how often potential additional vaccines would be provided.
“There is likely to be a need for a third dose between six and twelve months and from there there will be an annual revaccination,” he said at the event.
“But all of that needs to be confirmed and, again, variants will play a key role,” he continued. “It is extremely important to suppress the set of people who may be susceptible to the virus because they are vaccinated with high-efficiency vaccines.”
Earlier this month, Pfizer, along with German partner BioNTech, reported that the vaccine remained 91% effective for at least six months after the second dose.
Bourla said the six-month data show “extremely, extremely high” protection against COVID-19, noting that protection still “decreases over time.”
Health officials have previously raised the possibility that the public will need COVID-19 reinforcement features.
The foremost expert on infectious diseases Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci: Iowa Governor Announces Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Amid Pause: “Would Do It Again” Jill Biden Appears in “Sesame Street” Documentary Despite July 4 Timeline, U.S. they are very far from the immunity of the MORE flock He told MSNBC on Sunday that people “may need” a booster vaccine to protect themselves from the virus.
David Kessler, chief White House scientist, told lawmakers during a hearing Thursday that people “should expect” them to receive reinforcement shots, noting that officials “don’t know everything at this time.”
Pfizer and BioNTech said earlier this year they were testing a third dose of their vaccine against COVID-19 variants that have spread around the world.
Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Biological Assessment and Research Center, said during a webinar at the American Medical Association that officials think the protection “will probably last at least nine months.”
“It is possible, we do not know for sure, that somewhere in the nine months of the year we may need drivers, but we will have a better idea, probably each month we will have more security about when it may be necessary,” he added.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 103 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been administered in the U.S. and more than 87 million doses of the Modern vaccine.
Updated at 2:33 p.m.