Pfizer CEO: Yearly booster shots likely needed to keep COVID-19 at bay

The CEO of Pfizer said on Sunday that Americans may be required to get yearly booster shots to keep the coronavirus pandemic from resurging.

Dr. Albert Bourla, the pharmaceutical giant’s chairman and CEO, made the comment during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“Clearly we are not where we would all like to be, which is where COVID is behind us,” Dr. Bourla said. “I think that right now we have very significant tools in our hands so that we can go gradually, I think, back to our normal lives. But we need to understand that the COVID will not go away in the years to come.”

Arguing that Americans would have to learn “how to live” with the contagion, Dr. Bourla said it was likely people would have to get yearly boosters.

“We know that the duration of the [vaccine] doesn’t last very long,” he said. If you get sick, you can get sick again next year … Right now, the way that we have seen, it is necessary, a fourth booster right now.”

The Pfizer chief’s warning comes as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to plummet within the U.S. and across much of the globe.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.