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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that a fourth dose of the COVID-19 is necessary to prevent the virus from making a comeback as most coronavirus restrictions have been lifted. Bourla said that Pfizer is submitting data to the Food and Drug Administration that shows the current vaccine lost loses its protection against infections over time.
"Right now, the way that we have seen, it is necessary, a fourth booster right now. The protection that you are getting from the third, it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths," Bourla said on Face the Nation.
"It's not that good against infections but doesn't last very long. But we are just submitting those data to the FDA, and then we will see what the experts also will say outside Pfizer."
Bourla said that Pfizer is working on a vaccine that will protect against all variants of COVID-19 and provide protection for at least a year.
"We are working very diligently right now, it is to make not only a vaccine that will protect against all variants, including omicron, but also something that can protect for at least a year," he said. "And if we be able to achieve that, then I think it is very easy to follow and remember so that we can go back to really the way used to live."
A second booster shot is already recommended people for people over 18 who are "moderately to severely immunocompromised." In addition, several countries, including Chile, Germany, Israel, and Sweden, also recommend that high-risk individuals get a fourth COVID vaccine.