Pfizer’s CEO is saying that people who have received the company’s COVID-19 vaccine will likely need a booster shot within a year.
Albert Bourla told CNBC today that those receiving the Pfizer vaccine will need a booster within a year and people may need to be inoculated every year against the virus. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both require two separate shots a few weeks apart.
Pfizer had said in early February that it was testing booster shots in case they would be needed. According to the Chicago Tribune, Moderna is also testing booster shots for its similar messenger RNA vaccine.
Pfizer says that the vaccine is 90% effective at preventing serious illness from COVID-19. National public health officials have said it’s very possible that booster shots will be needed to protect people against some of the more contagious variants of the virus that are being discovered.