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Rachel Lang
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has revealed most people will need to get a fourth vaccination against Covid-19.
The company's boss said the first booster currently fights off the virus enough to reduce chances of hospitalisation, but is not as effective against the initial infection.
“[Getting the fourth vaccine] is necessary for most”, he said during an interview with CBS.
“Right now, the protection that you’re getting from the third [shot], it is good enough — actually quite good for hospitalisation and deaths — it’s not that good against infections, but doesn’t last very long,” he said.
Bourla's announcement comes just over a month after the Australian federal government revealed that it was looking into a fourth jab for Aussies.
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Back in January, Health Minister Greg Hunt suggested the first people in line for that would be 'older Australians and perhaps those working with vulnerable patients'.
He told reporters: "That's still under active medical consideration, but the supplies and logistics are in place to deliver that if it's required."
Israel was the first country in the world to start jabbing people with a fourth dose and they have already given out half a million injections.
It was offered to elderly citizens in the hope it would protect them against the Omicron strain of Covid-19 that has swept across the world.
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However, a recent study has cast a bit of doubt around a second booster shot.
Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay, a lead researcher in the study, said in a statement: "The vaccine, which was very effective against the previous strains, is less effective against the Omicron strain.
"We see an increase in antibodies, higher than after the third dose.
"However, we see many infected with Omicron who received the fourth dose. Granted, a bit less than in the control group, but still a lot of infections.
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"The bottom line is that the vaccine is excellent against the Alpha and Delta [variants], for Omicron it's not good enough."
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla also revealed during his interview with CBS that scientists at the pharmaceutical giant are currently working on a vaccine that should protect against all variants of the Covid-19 virus.
“Omicron was the first [variant] that was able to evade, in a skilful way the immune protection that we’re given, but also in all that the duration of the protection doesn’t last very long,” he said.
“What we are trying to do and we are working very diligently right now it is to make not only a vaccine that will protect against all variants, including Omicron, but also something that can protect for at least a year.
“And if we be able to achieve that, then I think it is very easy to follow and remember so that we can go back to really the way used to live.”
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According to Australian health statistics, 94.8 per cent of Aussies aged 16 and over are currently fully vaccinated.