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- Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) CEO Albert Bourla thinks that an annual COVID-19 vaccine could be preferable over frequent booster shots in terms of public health.
- In an interview with Israel's N12 News on Saturday, Bourla was asked whether he sees regular periodic administration of booster vaccines every four to five months. "This will not be a good scenario. What I'm hoping (is) that we will have a vaccine that you will have to do once a year," he replied.
- "Once a year - it is easier to convince people to do it. It is easier for people to remember. So from a public health perspective, it is an ideal situation. We are looking to see if we can create a vaccine that covers Omicron and doesn't forget the other variants and that could be a solution," Bourla added.
- The results of three studies released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday indicated that a booster dose of messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) or Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) significantly cut the risk of hospitalizations due to Omicron variant.
- The CDC data contrasted with another small-scale study conducted in Israel that suggested the fourth dose of mRNA vaccines was not adequately protective against the new COVID-19 variant.