Annual Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Shots Likely Needed, Pfizer CEO Says -- Update
April 15 2021 - 8:27PM
Dow Jones News
By Jared S. Hopkins
Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Albert Bourla said it is likely that
people who receive Covid-19 vaccines will need booster shots within
a year afterward, and then annual vaccinations, to maintain
protection against the virus as it evolves.
"The variants will play a key role. It is extremely important to
suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,"
Mr. Bourla said during a virtual event hosted by CVS Health Corp.
that aired Thursday but was recorded April 1.
"There are vaccines like polio where one dose is enough," Mr.
Bourla said. "And there are vaccines like flu that you need every
year. The Covid virus looks more like the influenza virus than the
polio virus."
More research is required to confirm the need for annual booster
shots, he said. But he added that the need appeared likely given
research so far.
The chief executive's comments come as the U.S. and other
countries race to vaccinate as many people as possible and try to
stay ahead of any variants that could evade the shots.
Researchers still don't know how long protection lasts from any
of the Covid-19 vaccines, although they are studying the issue. New
shots or boosters might be necessary, vaccine experts say, if the
virus mutates significantly enough.
In the rush to introduce vaccines for the new virus, companies
and other vaccine researchers didn't have time to determine how
long shots would provide protection, or whether booster shots would
be needed to ensure protection.
Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech SE, said recently that the shot
remains highly effective six months after its second dose, and they
hope to provide more information on protection beyond six months in
the coming weeks.
Health regulators began authorizing use of Pfizer-BioNTech's
shot in December and the vaccine has been rolled out in dozens of
countries. Since then, millions of people across the world have
been vaccinated.
Mr. Bourla and other Pfizer executives have said since last year
that annual or seasonal shots were likely. In February, Pfizer and
BioNTech began a study testing in people whether a third dose of
the companies' inoculation can protect against emerging variant
strains.
Moderna Inc. executives have also said they expect boosters to
be needed to ensure protection lasts in vaccinated people. The
company recently started studying whether a booster shot of its
two-dose vaccine is effective against a variant of the virus.
Countries with high vaccination rates will be ready to shift
their focus to boosters possibly at the end of this year, Moderna
said during a company vaccine event this week. Moderna President
Stephen Hoge said it is safe to assume boosters would be needed
"annually, probably seasonally, even though the pandemic is raging
in a nonseasonal way."
The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are based on a new
gene-based technology called messenger RNA. The likelihood that
periodic Covid-19 shots will be needed is one reason Pfizer
executives have said the company plans to expand its vaccine
business by becoming a leader in mRNA.
Write to Jared S. Hopkins at jared.hopkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2021 20:12 ET (00:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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