As Delta variant spreads, Pfizer asks FDA to approve booster dose of COVID vaccine Reuters

Michael Urman

New York (Reuters)- Pfizer The chief scientist of the drugmaker said on Thursday that the company (NYSE:) plans to require U.S. regulators to approve a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, based on evidence that there is a greater risk of re-infection six months after vaccination. And because of the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, said that the recently reported reduced effectiveness of vaccines in Israel was mainly due to infections in people who were vaccinated in January or February. The Ministry of Health said that the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic diseases fell to 64% in June.

“The Pfizer vaccine is very effective against the Delta variant,” Dorsten said in an interview. But six months later, he said, “As predicted, as the antibodies weaken, there may be a risk of re-infection.”

Pfizer did not release the full set of data for Israel on Thursday, but said it would release it soon.

He emphasized that data from Israel and the United Kingdom show that even if antibody levels decrease, the effectiveness of vaccines against serious diseases remains around 95%.

The vaccine was developed by a German partner BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:), and in a clinical trial conducted by the two companies last year, it was shown to be 95% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.

Dolsten said that early data from the company’s own research showed that the level of antibodies produced by the third booster injection was 5 to 10 times higher than after the second injection, indicating that the third injection will provide promising protection.

He said that multiple countries in Europe and elsewhere have already contacted Pfizer to discuss enhanced doses, and some countries may start using them before potential US authorization.

Dorsten said he believes that booster injections are particularly important in older people.

Since most parts of the world have not yet been vaccinated, boosters will promote increased demand for vaccines, so Dorsten said that Pfizer is looking for ways to increase production.

Pfizer’s goal is to produce 3 billion doses this year and 4 billion doses next year. Dolsten declined to give a precise forecast of how much the company can increase the dose, but stated that “we can increase it by 1 billion times in 22 years.”

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has said that people may need a booster dose of the company’s vaccine every 12 months—similar to an annual flu shot. But some scientists question when or if such a lens is needed.