True: Pfizer has discussed introducing booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine.

By: Prajwal M
April 29 2021

Share Article:

Pfizer is openly discussing the possibility of booster shots, but this has not been confirmed. On March 15, Intercept reporter Lee Fang tweeted that Pfizer is open to introducing booster vaccines. A transcript and a video of a panel discussion at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference shows Frank A. D'Amelio, CFO & Executive at Pfizer, say that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an "opportunity" to discuss boosters and pricing. "As we move from a [pandemic to an endemic] normal market forces, normal market conditions will start to kick in [...] we view that as [...] an opportunity for our vaccine from a demand perspective, from a pricing perspective, given the clinical profile of our vaccine. So clearly, more to come here," he said. On February 25, Pfizer announced that it is investigating a third booster dose in some individuals who received their first shot of the vaccine in the past six months. BNT162b2, a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, will be given to Phase 1 participants to evaluate its safety and tolerability. Discussions with authorities and regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency, are ongoing, as additional studies are required. Pfizer said the companies believe their current two-dose vaccine will work against the South African variant of COVID-19. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer, said that the rate of mutations in the current virus is higher than expected. It is a possibility that the company would end up with regular boosts, he said. In an interview wih NBC news, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that they expect the third dose to offer better protection against variants and that the immune response will be even higher with booster shots. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.