Individuals who have been “fully vaccinated” with the Pfizer vaccine may need to receive a third shot in the near future, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated this month.
“It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla told CNBC’s Bertha Coombs, floating the possibility of annual vaccinations for the Chinese coronavirus.
“We believe that the third dose will raise the antibody response 10- to 20- fold,” Bourla said at the time, likening it to the annual flu shot.
“Every year, you need to go to get your flu vaccine,” Bourla said. “It’s going to be the same with COVID. In a year, you will have to go and get your annual shot for Covid to be protected.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci has already previewed the possibility of coronavirus booster shots, explaining people “very well may need to get booster shots to keep up the level of protection.”
“We need to be careful about that six-month number. The study only went out as far as six months. We know for sure it’s effective for six months, but highly likely that it will be effective for considerably longer period of time,” he said during an appearance on The Mehdi Hasan Show.
“So the good news is that it’s at least six months. Hopefully a lot more. But in direct answer to your question, if it turns out a year or a year and a half, we very well may need to get booster shots to keep up the level of protection,” he added:
Pfizer says their vaccine provides protection for at least 6 months. But are booster shots on the way @MehdiRHasan asks? “While it’s highly likely that it will be effective for considerably longer,” Dr. Fauci explains, “we very well may need to get booster shots." pic.twitter.com/EhZripvM3G
— The Mehdi Hasan Show (@MehdiHasanShow) April 12, 2021
Over 102 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, specifically, have been administered in the United States, according to the CDC. Of those, over 38 million are considered to be “fully vaccinated.”
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