Pfizer and BioNTech ask the FDA to authorize a second booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Tuesday that they had asked the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize an additional booster dose of their covid-19 vaccine for people over 65 years of age.

Their claim is based on data from Israel and analyzed when the omicron variant was widely circulating, the companies said in a statement.

Pfizer CEO anticipates a fourth dose of his COVID-19 vaccine will be needed

These data show, according to Pfizer and BioNTech, that “an additional booster dose of the messenger RNA vaccine increases immunogenicity” (the ability to provoke an immune response) “and reduces rates of confirmed infections and serious illness.”

Therefore, the companies applied for an emergency use authorization from the FDA.

“At this moment, in the way we have seen, a fourth reinforcement is necessary. The protection you get from the third party is good enough, actually pretty good for hospitalizations and deaths. It’s not as good against infections, but it doesn’t last very long,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in an interview with CBS. (I)