Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla warned Wednesday of “constant waves” of COVID-19 caused by complacency around the virus, politicization of the pandemic, and waning immunity.
Cases are rising in the U.S., and the rate at which people are getting vaccinated is falling. In the week that ended May 22, 2022, the US reported 790,000 new cases, more than three times as many as were reported in the last week of March. Of course these numbers are a fraction of how many are becoming infected since testing sites are closed and people test at home if at all.
People are also growing tired of COVID-19 safety regulations, said Bourla, who was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders and members of the business elite are gathered for an annual summit.
“What worries me is the complacency,” Bourla said in Davos, adding that fewer people were wearing masks and that even people who have already been vaccinated were less likely to get booster shots. The consequences will likely be seen in three to six months, he said.
Bourla said Pfizer believed that antiviral drugs would replace vaccines as the key weapon in fighting the coronavirus, at least until shots providing a longer period of immunity are developed. Pfizer is “doubling down” on producing its antiviral pill Paxlovid, he added.