Annual vaccines to tackle Covid-19 are likely to be needed, the boss of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said yearly vaccinations could boost population immunity, adding that the company is already working on a new jab for the Omicron variant.
He told the BBC: “Based on everything I have seen so far, I would say that annual vaccinations . . . are likely to be needed to maintain a very robust and very high level of protection.”
It is not yet clear whether the vaccines will need to be tweaked every year for new variants, as happens with the annual flu jab.
In October, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer jab for five to 11-year-olds.
Dr Bourla said immunising that age group in the UK and Europe would be a very good idea. “Covid in schools is thriving,” he said. “This is disturbing, significantly, the educational system, and there are kids that will have severe symptoms.
“So there is no doubt in my mind that the benefits, completely, are in favour of doing it.”
Ireland’s National Immunisation Advisory Committee has recommended that anyone aged over 50 and people with underlying health conditions over the age of 16 should avail of a booster vaccine.
