Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb has urged Pfizer to launch the federal authorization process for its COVID-19 booster shot as soon as possible as the spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant ramps up around the United States.
Gottlieb stressed the importance of starting the process soon on Sunday - three days after Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech announced they are developing an additional booster dose to go with their existing two-shot vaccine.
'You're talking about a process that's probably at least a couple of months long, could take a little bit more time than that,' Gottlieb told CBS News' Face the Nation.
'So, I think starting right now, frankly, is prudent and that's what's happening.'
On Sunday, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Scott Gottlieb (pictured) appeared on 'Face the Nation,' saying Pfizer is currently studying the booster
Pfizer and German bio company BioNTech , announced they are currently in the process of developing a booster shot to accompany their two-dose shot vaccine, which would further protect people from additional variants
Around 93 percent of COVID-19 cases in recent days have occurred in counties with vaccination rates of less than 40 percent, CDC director Rochelle Walensky told a media briefing on Thursday
Pfizer and BioNTech on Thursday announced the development of the booster which would bolster protection from COVID-19 variants - including the Delta strain that now makes up the majority of new cases in the US.
The plan is to have people take the booster jabs six months after they have their second dose.
It comes after Pfizer and BioNTech recently acknowledged that the immunity given by its two-shot combination already appears to be waning.
The companies said data from Israel's world-beating drive has shown 'vaccine efficacy in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease has declined six months post-vaccination'.
Meanwhile, scientific trials of its booster jab show it can generate up to 10 times more neutralizing antibodies than just two doses, Pfizer and BioNTech say.
Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla has maintained that people will need a third dose, and that the vaccine could be needed annually like the flu shot.
In addition, officials at Moderna Inc are also testing a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, making similar comments about Americans needing booster shots.
'Booster shots will be needed as we believe the virus is not going away,' Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told investors during an earnings call in May.
