6:58
- ABC News
- September 26, 2021
Pfizer says possible to give boosters, 1st doses
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla appeared on ABC's "This Week."
6:58
\"He believes you should be waiving intellectual property to speed vaccine distribution. Is that a good idea?\" Stephanopoulos asked.
Bourla pushed back on the criticism and said he doesn't think it's a good idea.
\"Intellectual property is what created the thriving life sciences sector that was ready when the pandemic hit,\" Bourla said. \"Always there is more we can do, but I want to make sure people understand what we are doing right now.\"
That includes, he said, the commitment Pfizer has made to be able to produce billions of vaccine doses for both primary shots and boosters and pricing them lower for middle- and low-income countries.
Meanwhile, as the academic year kicks off in into the pandemic's uncertainty for a second time -- and as pediatric COVID infections have soared to alarming levels -- Pfizer's Bourla told Stephanopoulos they expected to submit their data to the FDA for review very soon.
On Wednesday, Pfizer released its first safety data about COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11, reassuring parents that a safe and effective vaccine soon could be available for those younger than 12. In a trial of more than 2,200 children, results showed a smaller dose of Pfizer's vaccine -- one-third the amount given to adults and adolescents 12 and up -- provided robust and adequate immune responses among those ages 5 to 11.
\"I think we are going to submit this data pretty soon. It's a question of days, not weeks,\" Bourla said, deferring to the regulatory review process for final answers.
If and when the FDA does agree with Pfizer's assessment, Bourla said his company is poised to finally begin providing shots to younger children.
In the midst of the promising data his company has touted, however, Bourla tempered his prediction for when the U.S. and world could finally return to \"normal life,\" underscoring progress is dependent on improved vaccine uptake and some measure of herd immunity.
While he said \"within a year\" he believes \"normal life\" will make a return, \"The most likely scenario for me is that because the virus is spread all over the world, we will continue seeing new variants that are coming out.\"
With that, he predicts annual vaccinations will be the norm.
\"But we don't know. We need to wait and see the data,\" he added.
ABC News' Eric M. Strauss contributed to this report.
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