Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated Thursday that people who receive his company's coronavirus vaccine will likely need to receive a booster shot twelve months after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
“It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla told CNBC, adding that people may have to receive the shot annually to maintain their immunity.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently given in two doses, three weeks apart. Studies have found the vaccine to be over 90% effective. The company has stated that its vaccine remains effective at least six months after the second dose.
Pfizer and fellow vaccine developer Moderna announced in February that they had begun testing a third dose of their vaccines to ensure immune responses remain high.
"We believe that the third dose will raise the antibody response 10- to 20- fold," Bourla said in an interview then,
Israel has primarily used the Pfizer vaccine in its highly successful vaccination drive, which has seen over half the population fully vaccinated and new infections drop to their lowest levels in many months.