People who have received the two doses of Pfizer will “probably” need a third dose within six months to a year. The boss of the pharmaceutical giant also said that an annual injection would be possible.
“A plausible hypothesis is that a third dose will probably be needed, between six months and twelve months, and from then on there will be one vaccination again each year, but all of this needs to be confirmed.”, explained Dr. Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, in statements released Thursday by CNBC.
The Pfizer-BioNTech alliance had already stated in February to participate in a clinical study on the effects of a third injection of its serum against the variants. “We believe the third dose will increase the antibody response 10 to 20 times”, underlines the CEO of the American laboratory. Like its American neighbor Moderna, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine features innovative messenger RNA technology. To date, these two vaccines are the best performing with an efficacy of 95% for Pfizer-BioNTech and 94.1% for Moderna.
According to the Greek Dr and CEO of the American pharmaceutical company, uncertainty reigns with the rise of variants in the world. “It is extremely important to minimize the number of people vulnerable to the virus”, he adds.
“We will be vaccinated and we will have a normal life”
In an interview with Echoes, the businessman, also a veterinarian, is optimistic “We will be vaccinated and we will have a normal life. Of course, this is just my guess. Things can change. But from everything I’ve seen, this is the most likely scenario ”. He also adds that a “Return to normal life” could even be expected in the fall.
The price of the vaccine is expected to increase by 26% in 2022
Asked about this by Les Echos, the CEO welcomes the logistical efforts made in recent weeks. “We ship doses to multiple locations across 27 countries every week with 99.9% accuracy. We did not destroy any dose, despite the need to maintain them at the start at -70 ° C. The system works very well ”. Dr Albert Bourla also promises many more doses for the 27 countries of the European Union “I cannot tell you how many doses the other laboratories are going to make available to the European Union. What I can tell you is that we are going to significantly increase our deliveries to the EU in the coming weeks ”.
However, the price of the vaccine is already high in the US and the EU and it is expected to rise further. According to statements by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on Euractiv “Pfizer cost € 12, then € 15.50. The Commission is now signing contracts for € 19.50 per dose” he confides. But the businessman and CEO of Pfizer defends himself, saying that “Vaccines come at an inestimable price, in the trillions of dollars they save human lives”
