Pfizer CEO says people will likely need a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated; followed by annual COVID-19 shot

Just like the yearly flu shots, people who are already vaccinated will likely need a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine within a year of being inoculated. That was according to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. He added that it’s possible that people will need to get a COVID-19 shot annually.

In a taped comment made on April 1, which was now made public Thursday, Bourla said people will “likely” need a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated. Bourla said:

“A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role.”

Bourla is not alone. Another top US scientist also warned that immunity from the shots does appear to wane eventually. “It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla told CNBC.

As we reported early this month, Pfizer finally answered the question everybody has been asking about how long the COVID-19 vaccines would last. In a joint statement, Pfizer and BioNtech announced that their Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective at protecting against symptomatic Covid-19 up to six months after the second dose, citing updated trial data.

This means people already vaccinated may have to go back and get a new vaccine to boost their immunity against the virus. In a joint news release, Pfizer and BioNTech said:

“Today announced updated topline results from analysis of 927 confirmed symptomatic cases of COVID-19 observed in their pivotal Phase 3 study through March 13, 2021, showing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, was 91.3% effective against COVID-19, measured seven days through up to six months after the second dose.”