US pharma giant Pfizer to seek nod for 3rd booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine
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American pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner&nbsp; BioNTech announced on Thursday that they plan to ask U.S. and European regulators to authorize a third booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine to further increase protection against coronavirus, especially the more contagious new Delta variant spreading across the world.</p>
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However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a joint statement that Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster COVID-19 shot at this point.</p>
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Reuters news agency has in its report from New York has also cited scientists who have questioned the need for booster shots.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/us-pharma-giant-pfizer-keen-to-export-vaccine-to-india-but-there-s-a-rider-90942.html">US pharma giant Pfizer keen to export vaccine to India but there&rsquo;s a rider</a></p>
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Pfizer&#39;s chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, said the decline in the vaccine&#39;s effectiveness in Israel reported recently was mainly due to infections in people who had been vaccinated in January or February. Israel&rsquo;s health ministry said the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing the infection fell to 64% in June.</p>
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&quot;The Pfizer vaccine is highly active against the Delta variant. But after six months there is the likely risk of reinfection as antibodies wane.&quot; Data would be submitted to the FDA within the next month, Dolsten said.</p>
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Pfizer did not release the entire Israeli data on Thursday, but said it would be published soon.</p>
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The FDA and CDC, in their joint statement, said: &quot;We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.&quot;</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/india-may-get-million-doses-of-pfizer-moderna-vaccines-from-who-led-covax-facility-100807.html">India may get 4 million doses of Pfizer, Moderna vaccines from WHO-led COVAX facility</a></p>
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Pfizer&#39;s own data from the United States showed a drop in the vaccine&#39;s efficacy from 95% to around 85% after six months, Dolsten said.</p>
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At the same time he claimed data from Israel and Britain indicates that even with falling antibody levels, the vaccine remains around 95% effective against severe disease.</p>
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Dolsten said early data from the company&#39;s own studies shows that a third booster dose generates antibody levels that are five-to-10-fold higher than after the second dose, suggesting that a third dose will offer more protection.</p>
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However, Reuters cited Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in as saying that &ldquo;basing the decision on waning antibody protection ignores the role of important other parts of the immune response, including memory B cells, which can make antibodies on demand when challenged by the virus.&rdquo;</p>
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&quot;You need better studies to be able to assert that. It isn&#39;t just neutralizing antibodies,&quot; Topol said.</p>
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<strong>BIG MONEY</strong></p>
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The financial stakes for Big Pharma are high which is why they have been fighting against the India-South Africa proposal for a temporary waiver on patent rights so that more vaccines can be produced in other countries to meet the acute shortage of doses worldwide.</p>
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Pfizer has already projected COVID-19 vaccine sales to be around $26 billion in 2021. Global spending on COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots is expected to touch a phenomenal $157 billion till 2025, according to U.S. health data firm IQVIA Holdings.</p>
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