August 2, 2023 – Pfizer’s CEO says the FDA could approve the corporate’s updated COVID-19 booster shots by the tip of the month.
Albert Bourla made this statement on Tuesday during a conference call with investors. NBC News reported.
Pfizer and Moderna asked the FDA in June to authorize a new edition of their boosters against the XBB.1.5 subvariant that had spread widely through the winter. That got here right after the FDA advised them to update the shots against XBB.1.5 ahead of the autumn booster effort.
The subvariant accounts for 12.3% of recent latest infections. the CDC says. A related strain, XBB.1.16, makes up about 15%. FDA advisers have said there won't be much difference in effectiveness against the strains because they’re so similar.
NBC said the FDA didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on Bourla's statements.
COVID hospitalizations are increasing within the U.S. and are expected to proceed to rise because the colder season approaches. According to NBC, hospitalizations are still lower than at every other point through the pandemic.
“We expect there to be a new wave of Covid in the U.S. this fall,” Bourla said.
According to NBC, it isn’t yet known whether the booster shots will likely be really useful for everybody within the country. The CDC will settle on that, probably after the FDA approves the shots.
According to the CDC, only 17% of Americans have opted for the booster shot thus far.