Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla warned Tuesday that a vaccine-resistant strain of COVID-19 is likely to emerge at some point in the future.
“Every time that the variant appears in the world, our scientists are getting their hands around it,” Bourla told Fox News’ America’s Newsroom. “They are researching to see if this variant can escape the protection of our vaccine. We haven’t identified any yet but we believe that it is likely that one day, one of them will emerge.”
Bourla said his company has a system in place that would allow it to manufacture a variant-specific vaccine in around three months in the event a variant does develop that is resistant to current vaccines. So far, no variant of the coronavirus has widely spread that cannot be combatted by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines, although there is evidence they are not as effective at preventing infection against the delta variant. (RELATED: It Turns Out Those Plastic Barriers Put Up To Stop COVID-19 May Actually Make It Easier To Spread)
What does full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine mean? It means the vaccine has undergone the same rigorous review as other long-established vaccines. https://t.co/OcjhhlbMYs
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 24, 2021
Bourla appeared on Fox News the day after his company’s vaccine received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, making it the first vaccine to reach that milestone in the U.S. Government officials and medical experts hope that the full approval will spur some vaccine-hesitant Americans to get the jab.
America’s vaccination rate has increased by around 75% from a low-point of just over 500,000 shots per day July 11. Almost three-quarters of U.S. adults have at least one dose of the vaccines, which remain nearly 100% effective at preventing hospitalization or death caused by COVID-19, even against the delta variant.