“I believe in one, two months we will have enough data to speak about it with much higher scientific certainty,” he told CNN.
“If they got their second shot eight months ago, they may need a third one,” Bourla said, adding that booster shots could be coming between September and October of this year.
He said Pfizer will have to see what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves, and what its recommendation will be on how best to protect the American people.
Moderna has also been working on a booster shot — a half dose of its vaccine — to fight COVID-19 variants like B.1.351, first seen in South Africa, and P.1, first discovered in Brazil, CNN reported.
Medical experts believe coronavirus may end up being like the flu, which requires a new shot every year both because the circulating strains mutate quickly and because immunity wears off quickly.
Fully vaccinated welcomed to travel to EU countries
The fully vaccinated will soon be welcome to visit countries in the European Union, officials there announced Wednesday.
The new measures for tourists and other travelers could take effect as early as next week, The New York Times reported.
Visitors will be allowed into the bloc’s 27 member states if they’ve been fully immunized with vaccines approved by the European Union’s regulator or the World Health Organization. They include the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines.
