Pfizer, just two months ago, rolled out their booster shot. This booster shot was the third dose Pfizer has created after the first two original doses. Originally, Pfizer's CEO said that a 4th shot will not be needed until a year after the first booster shot. However, he just made a new statement saying that a new booster will be needed soon than expected. He said it is due to the Omicron variant. However, a couple weeks prior he said that research showed that the first booster shot was strong enough to handle the Omicron variant.
One of the concerns brought up is that Pfizer is going to continue to say that new vaccines and booster shots are needed everytime there is a new variant arises. These new booster shots might not provide anymore protection than having just the original shots plus the booster. Pfizer could be making these recommendations to increase their profits.
The World Health Organization has come out and said that they do not think another booster shot should be the focus right now. They do not believe that is the solution right now. They think efforts should be focused on people that are unvaccinated.
Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-12-09/pfizer-ceo-omicron-variant-could-mean-fourth-vaccine-dose-needed-sooner-than-expected
5 comments:
This behavior from Pfizer is not surprising. At the end of the day in a capitalist system companies would try to take advantage of any chances that could boost their profits.
So far, only about 50 million people -- 26.9% of fully vaccinated adults -- have received an additional vaccine dose. It is way too early to suggest another booster shot as the scientists don't even fully understand the new variant yet. How are you supposed to develop a new vaccine that ensures the effectiveness against a new variant that no one understands yet?
I could easily see Pfizer pushing for the booster primarily out of financial gain. I would like to see the data about the effectiveness of the initial doses compared to that of the booster shots to make a determination of the ethics of producing and accepting a booster shot.
I wonder if some of the other companies will attempt these boosters to try and make an additional financial gain. I also hope that authorities will recognize this and either shut it down or fully prove it is effective against new variants.
I question how effective this booster shot is towards the new variant as it seems that the Pfizer CEO changed his original stance on the booster shot. With so many people struggling, coming out with new vaccines can provide a company with huge profits. I wonder the ethics of Pfizer if their research actually backs up their claims. How can Pfizer be so confident in their booster shot? These are massive claims that Pfizer is making, I wonder if these claims get proven false how will this affect the stock price?
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