Kierra Frazier
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Saturday he would recommend an annual COVID-19 vaccine over frequent booster shots, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: The rise of the Omicron variant has pushed the need for vaccine boosters, and businesses, universities and others have begun to require the booster shots.
The big picture: Bourla said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12News that he does not think the long-term COVID response should rely on booster shots that would need to be administered every four to five months, per Reuters.
- “What I’m hoping (is) that we will have a vaccine that you will have to do once a year,” said Bourla, according to the wire service.
- “Once a year — it is easier to convince people to do it. It is easier for people to remember,” he added.
- Bourla said Pfizer is looking to create a vaccine that covers Omicron and other variants as soon as March.
- Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is effective against severe disease and death from the Omicron variant, although it’s less effective in preventing transmission, experts have found.
Courtesy: (Axios)
