Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told Fox News Tuesday the company is planning for a vaccine-resistant variant of COVID-19 to emerge.
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“Every time that the variant appears in the world, our scientists are getting their hands around it,” Bourla told the Fox News. “They are researching to see if this variant can escape the protection of our vaccine. We haven’t identified any yet but we believe that it is likely that one day, one of them will emerge.”
When that happens, Bourla said Pfizer should have a process to develop variant-specific vaccines within 95 days of identifying the strains.
This week, Pfizer’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine received official U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. So far, this vaccine and others – such as the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine – have proved effective against the initial strain of the virus and appear to prevent severe cases and death. However, vaccine efficacy has dropped with the emergence of the now-dominant Delta variant.
A third booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine “sharply increases antibodies against the coronavirus,” the New York Times reported Wednesday.
This week Chief Medical Advisor to the President Dr. Anthony Fauci explained that getting around 90 percent of the population vaccinated is the key to eventually ending the pandemic. When more people are vaccinated, COVID-19 has less opportunity to spread and there is less chance of variants developing.
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Bourla told Fox News on Tuesday that for Pfizer, combating vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. is not a priority. Instead, the company has been working to increase vaccine supply to meet global demand and to stay ahead of emerging variants.
"I don't think right now for us it's a priority to do anything different than what we do," Bourla said.
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