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Pfizer seeking approval for third booster shot: What you need to know
Pfizer Inc is planning to approach FDA for approval for the third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine. According to the pharmaceutical firm, the third dose will provide a better immunity against the coronavirus variants.
Although the efficacy of the 2-dose vaccine still stands at 95%, people in the UK and Israel are seeing a drop in that after six months of the second dose. According to Israel’s health ministry, the efficacy of the vaccine fell to 64% for people who got vaccinated about six months ago.
Pfizer chief Scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten said, "It's a small data set, but I think the trend is accurate: six months out, given that Delta is the most contagious variant we have seen, it can cause infections and mild disease.”
Dolsten also said that many countries from Europe have approached Pfizer about the feasibility of a third booster shot in an effort to prevent the rising infections in the continent.
In terms of revenue, Pfizer is looking at making $26 billion from the shot in 2021 alone. A total of $157 billion is expected to be spent by governments worldwide by 2025 on vaccines.
FDA has not yet commented on this update. Countries are struggling to get vaccines throughout the world, and if the third booster shot is labeled as ‘required’ to tackle covid-variants, it can cause a huge supply issue.