Pfizer recently stated that data from Israel and the United States suggests that its COVID-19 vaccine efficacy drops over time and claimed that booster doses are effective at dealing with new virus variants.
And the evidence from the studies indicates that the “observed decrease of vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infections is primarily due to waning of vaccine immune responses over time rather than a result of the Delta variant escaping vaccine protection,” according to Pfizer.
Based on its data, Pfizer claimed that booster doses should be given to all people aged 16 and older six months after they’ve received their second dose of the mRNA vaccine.
The pharmaceutical giant, which partnered with BioNTech to develop its vaccine, cited a study from health care company Kaiser Permanente that suggested protection against COVID-19 infection dropped from 88 percent in the first month after receiving the second dose to 47 percent after five months.
The company is attempting to make an argument ahead of a crucial FDA meeting scheduled for Sept. 17, where a panel is slated to debate and vote on whether to recommend booster shots, or a third dose of the vaccine.
“Current evidence does not ... appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high,” the study reads. “Even if boosting were eventually shown to decrease the medium-term risk of serious disease, current vaccine supplies could save more lives if used in previously unvaccinated populations.”
“I will not stay silent when companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world’s poor should be satisfied with leftovers,” Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Sept. 8. “Because manufacturers have prioritized or been legally obliged to fulfill bilateral deals with rich countries willing to pay top dollar, low-income countries have been deprived of the tools to protect their people.”