The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine has shown remarkable results so far, with a December 2020 study published in New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that it is 94.6 percent effective in preventing a symptomatic COVID infection after two doses. However, in a new interview with NBC News, the CEO of Pfizer is saying that a third injection may be necessary to obtain full protection. Read on to find out why you may need a third injection and, for more vaccination news, check out This other vaccine may already be protecting you from COVID, says the study.
During an interview with NBC News’s Lester Holt, CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla explained that by adding a third additional booster dose to the recommended two-dose vaccine, individuals will have greater protection against the highly infectious variants of COVID that have recently been identified. “We believe that the third dose will increase the antibody response 10 to 20 times,” said Bourla.
Scientific Director of Pfizer Mikael Dolsten, MD, told Reuters recently: “The rate of mutations in the current virus is higher than expected. It is a reasonable probability that we would end up with regular increases.”
A preprint of a January study by BioNTech, which worked with Pfizer to create the vaccine, found that the doses are effective against B.1.1.7. United Kingdom variant, which is expected to become the dominant strain in the United States in March. But this may not be true with all mutations in the virus. For example, a February report by Pfizer and BioNTech, published in The new English medical journal, found that the South African variant can reduce the protective antibodies produced by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by approximately two-thirds.
To prevent future widespread coronavirus infections, Pfizer plans to test the effectiveness of modified versions of the company’s existing vaccine against mutations, starting with the South African variant. And if you want to know more about the latest vaccine, these are the side effects of the New Johnson & Johnson vaccine, says the FDA.
Although it may have taken nearly a year for the COVID vaccine to be available in the United States, the development of future boosters to treat coronavirus mutants should not take so long. On February 22, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that vaccine companies could apply for Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for future coronavirus vaccines, instead of conducting additional large-scale clinical trials. “In the case of experimental vaccines being developed for the prevention of COVID-19, any assessment of the USA will be made on a case-by-case basis,” says the FDA statement. And for more vaccine advice from the country’s top agencies, see The CDC says it won’t do this within 2 weeks of its COVID vaccine.
Pfizer is currently studying the effectiveness of administering a third injection and, in a statement this week, Moderna said the company is also “evaluating booster doses of the vaccine to increase neutralizing immunity against the worrying variants”, including the South African variant. (In addition, the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, which is due to be approved for emergency use by the FDA this week, has proven to be quite effective in clinical trials in South Africa itself, where it was 82 percent against serious illnesses. ) As with your first and second doses, the booster is likely to be from the same company as the initial vaccinations.
Although the precise timeframe for the most effective administration of the third injection has not yet been definitively determined, the time between the participants’ first injection and its reinforcement in the latest Pfizer tests is six months to a year, reports NBC News. And to get the latest COVID news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Although the initial vaccination of COVID – be it one, two or perhaps now three – is a good first step in keeping the pandemic in check, Bourla explained that it probably will not be a definitive deal. “Every year, you need to get the flu shot. It will be the same with COVID, ”said Bourla. And if you’re still looking for an appointment, take a look You can be vaccinated at any Walgreens by this date.