The amount of time that passed since vaccination appears to be a "significant factor" in so-called breakthrough cases of the coronavirus, a finding that supports the important role booster shots can play in helping curb the pandemic, Pfizer's CEO says.
Dr. Albert Bourla, in an open letter released Thursday, made the pitch for the Pfizer/BioNTech booster shot in advance of an FDA advisory committee meeting that will make a recommendation on the third jabs.
Bourla said evidence collected from Pfizer's clinical trial up through six months after the second dose shows that the vaccine "continues to be safe, well tolerated, and highly effective in preventing COVID-19, despite the appearance of different variants."
He said researchers compared cases in participants who received the vaccine at the beginning of the study to those in participants who received a placebo but were later fully vaccinated. The researchers found those who were vaccinated later in the trial experienced 26% higher efficacy as compared to those people who were vaccinated early on as part of the original group.
Pfizer has a "robust" booster research program, Bourla wrote.
"I am pleased to say that the data from the program have shown that the virus is not winning," he wrote. "We observed a strong immune response after the booster dose."
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