Pfizer’s CEO says 4th dose of COVID vaccine will be required: “It is necessary, a fourth (dose) for right now”

Currently, anyone ages 12 and up who got a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine at least five months ago can get a third dose.

PHILADELPHIA — People will need a fourth dosage of vaccine to help fend off another wave of Covid-19, according to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Sunday.

“Many variants are coming, and Omicron was the first one that was able to evade — in a skillful way — the immune protection that we’re giving,” Bourla told CBS‘ “Face the Nation.”

“The protection we are getting from the third (dose) it is good enough — actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths,” Bourla said.

But protection after three doses is “not that good against infections” and “doesn’t last very long” when faced with a variant like Omicron.

“It is necessary, a fourth (dose) for right now,” Bourla told CBS.

Anyone aged 12 and above who has received a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine within the last five months is eligible for a third dose.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anybody aged 18 and up who received the two-dose Moderna vaccine should obtain a booster shot six months following the second dose.

The CDC also advises that anyone who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine get a booster shot after two months.

According to the CDC, certain moderately or severely immunocompromised persons who have had three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines can already receive the fourth dose.

However, it’s not clear whether or when the US Food and Drug Administration would approve a fourth dosage of the Covid-19 vaccination for healthy teens and adults.

“We are just submitting those data to the FDA, and then we’ll see what the experts also would say outside Pfizer,” Bourla said.

Kids under 5 might soon be able to get vaccinated

Children between the ages of 5 and 11 are currently eligible for two pediatric doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccination, but not for a booster. In that age group, Pfizer is currently testing the third dose. According to reports.

Also, children under the age of 5 are not yet eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination, though this may change this spring, according to Bourla.

Two doses of a smaller, child-sized vaccination didn’t provide the desired immunity in 2- to 5-year-olds, but it did for babies aged 6 months to 2 years, according to initial trial findings.

As a result, Pfizer decided to add a third child-sized dose to its ongoing trial for children under the age of five.

Bourla expects that Pfizer will receive data on its three-dose vaccine trial for children aged 6 months to 5 years by April.

Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 6 months to 5 years might begin as early as May if approved by the FDA and recommended by the CDC. Bourla commented.

A shot at a longer-lasting vaccine against all variants

Pfizer and Moderna have said that they are developing a vaccine to defend against the Omicron form. It’s not clear whether one is required.

Pfizer also hopes to develop a vaccine that immunity against Omicron and all other types of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, according to Bourla.

The goal is to create “something that can protect for at least a year,” Bourla told CBS on Sunday.

“And if we are able to achieve that, then I think it is very easy to follow and remember so that we can go back to really the way (we) used to live,” he said.

This article originally appeared on CNN and has been updated.