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Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla hasn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19 because he is “healthy” and doesn’t want to “cut the line”.
Mr Bourla said this in December 2020. He has since publicly shared pictures of him being vaccinated against Covid-19.
A video reel shared to Instagram on 23 January claims that the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, has not had a Covid-19 vaccine because he doesn’t want to “cut the line”. A watermark on the video indicates it was taken from TikTok, but the original account which posted the video now appears to have been deleted or suspended. However, Full Fact found other versions of the clip with thousands of likes still live on the social media site. There is no mention in the Instagrampost of the fact that Mr Bourla’s interview with CNBC, shown in the clip, actually took place more than a year ago on 14 December 2020. In fact, many people commenting on it seem to think that the clip is much more recent. As we have written before Mr Bourla publicly shared on 10 March 2021 that he had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. It was reported in October 2021 that he had also received a booster dose of the vaccine. The Instagram video shows Mr Bourla being asked when he plans to have his Covid-19 vaccination, to which he replies: “The sooner I can I will. The only sensitivity here...is that I don’t want to have an example that I am cutting the line. “I am 59-years-old, I am in good health, I’m not working in the frontline so my type is not recommended to get vaccination [sic].” The video cuts just before Mr Bourla says: “My type is not recommended to get vaccination now”. The removal of this word changes the meaning of the sentence, from people in Mr Bourla’s situation being recommended for vaccination at all, to people in a similar position just not being prioritised for the vaccine at the time he spoke. The vaccination rollout in the US (where Mr Bourla lives) began on 14 December 2020, the same day the interview took place. As in the UK, healthcare workers and the most elderly and vulnerable people were prioritised for vaccination ahead of other population groups. Image courtesy of Spencer Davis, via Unsplash.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla hasn't received his company's Covid-19 vaccine shot yet, saying Monday he and other executives will not "cut the line" as U.S. officials kick off a massive effort to distribute the vaccine across the country. The vaccine, which Pfizer developed in partnership with Germany-based BioNTech, is the first approved for emergency use in the U.S. to prevent Covid-19. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the vaccine for use in people 16 and older, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday officially recommended its use. However, there are limited doses available and as such, the CDC has recommended states prioritize health-care workers and long-term care residents for initial distribution. While Bourla's company developed the vaccine, he is not a frontline health-care worker himself. He said he's also 59 and in relatively good health, so it's not entirely appropriate for him to receive the vaccine before other people who need it more. If he was vaccinated on camera, he said it might help increase the public's willingness to receive it, citing Pfizer's internal research. But he emphasized that "none of the executives and board members will cut the line." Bourla also urged Americans to "trust science" and encouraged people to get vaccinated when appropriate, based on their age and occupation. "This is a vaccine that was developed without cutting corners from a company with 171 years of credentials," Bourla said Monday on "Squawk Box." "This is a vaccine that was developed in the spotlight, in the daylight, with all the data being put in a server." Bourla's comments come as the first deliveries of doses are set to arrive at more than 100 of the country's 636 pre-determined distribution sites. Some frontline health-care workers are due to be vaccinated as soon as Monday morning and vaccination is set to begin among long-term care residents next week, according to Operation Warp Speed officials. It's a monumental logistical challenge. The federal government has partnered with UPS, FedEx, McKesson, CVS, Walgreens, among others, to help distribute the vaccine and actually administer it. But state immunization officials have warned that the so-called last-mile delivery of the vaccine will be the most challenging, and states are largely responsible for that effort. State officials have repeatedly called on the federal government to provide more funding to hasten the effort. The vaccine could not arrive soon enough. The U.S. is approaching the heart-wrenching milestone of 300,000 deaths caused by Covid-19. Top U.S. health officials, including CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, have warned that the rate of death is unlikely to slow for months, even as a vaccine is rolled out. That's because the U.S. doesn't have enough doses to broadly vaccine throughout the population of 331 million Americans, and needs to prioritize the country's most vulnerable and essential. Alex Azar, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which has partnered with the Department of Defense to run Operation Warp Speed, said Monday on the "TODAY" show that the general population could begin getting vaccinations by the end of February or early March. Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of President-elect Joe Biden's Covid-19 advisory board, later Monday called it a "fairly optimistic timeline" on CNN. Published Mon, Jan 10 2022 5:39 PM ESTUpdated Tue, Jan 11 2022 3:39 PM EST
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla talks during a press conference with European Commission President after a visit to oversee the production of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at the factory of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, in Puurs, on April 23, 2021. John Thys | AFP | Getty Images Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday said two doses of the company's vaccine may not provide strong protection against infection from the Covid omicron variant, and the original shots have also lost some of their efficacy at preventing hospitalization. Bourla, in an interview at JPMorgan's health-care conference, emphasized the importance of a third shot to boost people's protection against omicron. "The two doses, they're not enough for omicron," Bourla said. "The third dose of the current vaccine is providing quite good protection against deaths, and decent protection against hospitalizations." Bourla said omicron is a more difficult target than previous variants. Omicron, which has dozens of mutations, can evade some of the protection provided by Pfizer's original two shots. "We have seen with a second dose very clearly that the first thing that we lost was the protection against infections," Bourla said. "But then two months later, what used to be very strong in hospitalization also went down. And I think this is what everybody's worried about." Real-world data from the United Kingdom has found that two vaccine doses are 52% effective at preventing hospitalization 25 weeks after receiving the second shot, according to data from the U.K. Health Security Agency. Two-doses of Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccines are only about 10% effective at preventing infection from omicron 20 weeks after the second dose, according to the U.K. data. A booster dose, on the other hand, is up to 75% effective at preventing symptomatic infection and 88% effective at preventing hospitalization, according to the data. However, Bourla said it's unclear how long a booster dose will provide protection against Covid. The U.K. Health Security Agency also found that boosters are only 40% to 50% effective against infection 10 weeks after receiving the shot. "The question mark, it is how long that protection lasts with the third dose," Bourla said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that some people with compromised immune systems receive four shots, three primary doses and one booster. Israel has rolled out fourth Pfizer doses for people over the age of 60. Israel found that fourth doses increase protective antibodies fivefold. Bourla told CNBC earlier Monday that Pfizer will have a vaccine that specifically targets omicron ready in March, though he said it's not clear whether it will be needed or not. He also told CNBC more tests need to be done to determine whether or not fourth doses are necessary. Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter. |