Pfizer CEO said Sunday that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely end by next year. This would allow for normal life to resume.
He stated that the COVID-19 virus will likely continue to evolve and would require annual vaccinations.
His comments are very similar to those of Moderna CEO Stphane Bankcel last week.
Check out more stories from Insider's business page.
Loading... Click to sign up for marketing emails from Insider and other partners. You also agree to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy
Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, stated Sunday that he believes life will return to normal in the next year, despite the fact that new COVID-19 variants are likely to continue to appear around the world.
Bourla stated that he agrees that we can return to normal life within one year. This was during an appearance on ABC News's "This Week." "I don’t believe this means variants won’t continue to come, and I don’t think that this should mean we shouldn’t be able live our lives without vaccinations."
Bourla's comments echo statements made by Stphane Bancel last week, Moderna CEO, about how the pandemic would be over in a year.
According to Reuters, Bancel stated that enough vaccines should be made available by the middle next year, citing the industry-wide increase in production capacity over the past six month.
Bancel stated that people who are not vaccinated will "immunize themselves naturally" since the Delta variant of the virus is highly transmissible.
"This will lead to a similar situation to the flu. Either get vaccinated to have a great winter. You can also avoid it and risk getting sick, possibly ending up in the hospital," he said.
Bourla told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that he believes COVID-19 will likely need an annual vaccine to combat variants emerging around the globe.
He stated that the most likely scenario, as the virus is spreading all over the globe, is that we will see new variants of the virus and that vaccines will be available that last at least one year. Annual vaccinations seem to be the best option. We don't really know. We will have to wait and watch the data."
These comments were made as millions of Americans are eligible for vaccine booster shots.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer boosters to be given to people aged 65 and over and those at high risk for severe COVID-19. This includes people who are more susceptible to getting sick due to their health and people who live and work in areas where the virus is most likely to spread, according to Andrea Michelson and Aria Bendix of Insider.
This development occurred in the same week as the 1918-1919 pandemic influenza deaths in the US.
