Pfizer is accelerating research on COVID-19 vaccines because there is a “high possibility” that shooting deadly bugs will not be effective in the future.
“It is very likely that one day this will happen,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during a panel at the 2021 Davos World Economic Forum.
Bourla hopes to reduce the time it takes from recognizing a pandemic-scale infectious disease threat to vaccinating 100 days or less, Business Insider reported. That’s a third of the Trump administration’s Warp Speed operation.
COVID vaccines were produced at a record speed due to technological advances, major funding efforts and the public’s desire to participate in studies, the Daily Mail reported.
Pfizer of New York, which developed its vaccine with the German company BioNTech, first came out of the gate with an approval of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Bourla said the company never dreamed that its vaccine would be 95% effective. “Almost perfect,” he boasted. Pfizer’s image is one of two versions offered in New York City.
In contrast, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is only 66% effective, although it is better at preventing hospitalization and death than the disease itself.
Bourla said he aims to make sure the Pfizer shot remains extremely effective as the virus moves. So far, it has only been tested with laboratory versions of variants found in the UK and South Africa, both of which have appeared in the US.
The CEO also addressed distribution issues, which he acknowledged were injured. “I am very optimistic, very soon we will be able to deliver on the doses we have promised the world,” Bourla said. By early summer, the world should have the supply it needs, he said. Pfizer aims to produce 2 billion doses.