On Sunday, the chief executive officer of Pfizer said that Americans should be prepared to receive a second booster shot of the Coronavirus vaccine, which would mark the fourth overall shot that has been forced on the American public.
As reported by Politico, Albert Bourla made his remarks in an interview with CBS’ Margaret Brennan, where he said that his company was preparing to submit “a significant package of data about the need for a fourth dose” to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The protection that you are getting from the third [shot], it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths,” Bourla said. “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.”
The Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19, which requires two different shots, was first approved in late 2020. A third shot produced by the same company, known as a booster, was authorized by the FDA in September. However, there had been contradicting rhetoric from the Biden White House and the private sector; when Pfizer first recommended the original booster shot, the Biden Administration initially disagreed with the idea of a booster before reversing course and approving it.
“I think right now we need to be very well-coordinated — CDC, FDA and the industry — so that we are all providing to the American people and to the world a cohesive picture rather than confusion,” Bourla continued. But he emphasized his belief that the United States needs to “very diligently stay ahead of the virus,” even though the height of the pandemic appears to have passed.
Bourla also promised during the interview that if the second booster is approved, then “we can go back to, really, the way we used to live.”
The coronavirus has spiked twice under Biden’s watch: First in early- and mid-2021 due to the rise of the India Variant, also known as the Delta Variant. Then, just as Delta seemed to subside, a new variant known as the South Africa Variant, or the Omicron Variant, peaked in early 2022.
Despite the Biden Administration’s insistence of strict measures such as further lockdowns and vaccine requirements, such policies have become so widely unpopular that the vast majority of states have begun lifting nearly all restrictions. Biden’s attempt to force a vaccine mandate on all private businesses with 100 or more employees was struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year.