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Pfizer CEO says 4th COVID-19 vaccine shot will be needed

FILE - A doctor loads a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at a mobile vaccination clinic in Worcester, Mass. In January 2022, an influential government advisory panel is considering COVID-19 boosters for younger teens, as the U.S. battles the omicron surge and schools struggle with how to restart classes amid the spike. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) (Steven Senne, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Get ready to roll up your sleeves again.

Pfizer’s CEO says a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot will be needed.

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“It is necessary, a fourth boost, for right now. The protection we are getting from the third, it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths, is not that good against infections, but doesn’t last very long. But we are just submitting those data to the FDA and then we’ll see what the experts also would say outside Pfizer,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on an episode of “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday on CBS.

Some people already qualify for a fourth shot. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised who’ve had three doses of Pfizer or Moderna are recommended to get the extra dose.

But, at this point, it’s not clear if or when the Food and Drug Administration would sign off on the fourth shot for healthy teenagers and adults.

Pfizer’s CEO says, in addition to the fourth dose, they’re working to create a vaccine that will protect against omicron and other future variants that can protect for at least a year.


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