In the midst of the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, a comment by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla seems to have been overlooked when he said that getting a COVID vaccine in the future will be an annual event just like getting a flu shot.
“Every year, you need to go to get your flu vaccine,” Bourla told NBC News. “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.”
Even though COVID vaccines have only been authorized for emergency use, Bourla said they plan to move ahead to “pivot and tweak the current vaccine” to meet future needs. Both Pfizer and Moderna have entered clinical trials testing booster doses, with the FDA encouraging them by saying they are “willing to authorize booster shots based on small clinical trials, accepting data on how well they prime the immune system rather than holding out for long-term results on protecting against Covid-19.”
SOURCES:
The Defender February 26, 2021
NBC News February 25, 2021
STAT News February 24, 2021