Vaccination against COVID

Albert Bourla, CEO of the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, believes it is necessary to vaccinate people with three doses of the coronavirus vaccine to fight the pandemic more effectively and to revaccinate annually. He expressed this opinion on BFM television on Monday.

"We don't have any data yet on when the fourth dose of the vaccine will be needed. But I have said many times: in my view, three doses are needed to complete the vaccination cycle, then one dose per year, except for the most vulnerable citizens who could be vaccinated every quarter," he said.

Pfizer is studying the effectiveness of the fourth dose of vaccination and does not expect to have results until March. At the same time, data on a new coronavirus vaccine, which will be better adapted to the new strains, will be available, he added.

The CEO said the company had produced around 3 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2021. 2.6 billion doses were destined for export, of which 40% were supplied to developing countries. For 2020, Pfizer earned about $36 billion from these vaccines.

Investment in France

Bourla spoke about plans to launch Paxlovid, a drug designed to treat COVID-19 and prevent severe disease.

"We have big plans to invest in France, we intend to invest €520m over five years. Most of this investment will go towards a partnership with Novacep in Murens in the south of France to produce the active pharmaceutical ingredient of this drug for the world," said the CEO of the US pharmaceutical giant.

Paxlovid comes in the form of two kinds of tablets, which must be taken together twice a day for five days.

Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalisation or death after being infected with the coronavirus by 89%, according to data from phase two trials. The US Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for emergency use on 22 December last year.