Pfizer Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Bourla said the 4th dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine was a ‘must’ to prevent the virus from spreading.
The statement was made by Bourla while making an appearance on CBS on March 13.
According to him, a 4th injection or a 2nd booster dose is needed at the moment because the 3rd dose is only effective to reduce hospital admissions and to prevent more moderate symptoms, but not strong enough to fight infection.
He added that they have sent data to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States (US) and are awaiting a decision from experts on the vaccination strategy.
For the record, in August last year the FDA approved the use of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 16 years and older and the use of the 3rd dose was also approved during emergencies.
Currently Israel, Chile and Germany have begun a 4th dose recommendation for high-risk groups.
Meanwhile, Bourla also stated that his company is trying to create a new vaccine that is ‘capable of fighting all variants’ including Omicron which can provide ‘one year’ protection to consumers.
He said, besides Omicron, there are other variants and they are not sure how long the latest vaccine will last in fighting the emerging variants.
For the record, Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s vaccine program once stated that booster injections are desperately needed to cope with new variants.
