Fully vaccinated people will need a fourth shot later in 2022, according to the head of Pfizer Inc., who said that COVID-19 is not going to just go away in the coming years.
Albert Bourla told CBS News reporter Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" that people are going to have to learn to live with the virus.
He said a fourth dose -- a second booster -- is necessary "right now."
"The protection that you are getting from the third, it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths," he said, according to a CBS News transcript. "It's not that good against infections, but doesn't last very long."
A second booster has already been approved for some immunocompromised people.
Bourla said he expects the COVID booster to become an annual occurrence, much like the flu shot, and added that Pfizer is working on a vaccine that offers even better protection.
Pfizer $(PFE)$ is currently working to make a vaccine that will protect against all variants, including omicron, "but also something that can protect for at least a year. And if we be able to achieve that, then I think it is very easy to follow and remember so that we can go back to really the way used to live," he said.
Bourla is expecting data from trials of the vaccine in children below the age of 5 to be ready in April. If those prove successful and are authorized, the first shots in that age group could come in May.
U.S. COVID numbers continue to decline, and the nation is now averaging 34,232 new cases a day, according to a New York Times tracker, down 48% from two weeks ago.
The average daily number of hospitalizations stands at 29,688, down 42% from two weeks ago. Deaths are averaging 1,291 a day, down 31% from two weeks ago, but still an undesirably high number.
A new COVID variant, that is being called deltacron for now as it combines elements of the delta and omicron variants, has been detected in several European countries, but it's too early to say whether it's more transmissible or more lethal than other ones.
The World Health Organization confirmed the variant has been found in small numbers in France, the Netherlands and Denmark, as WebMD reported
"We have not seen any change in the epidemiology with this recombinant. We haven't seen any change in severity. But there are many studies that are under way," World Health Organization COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D., said at a news conference.
The new variant is expected to spread, however, she added, cautioning that again, "the pandemic is far from over."