Pfizer CEO says a vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant is 'likely' to emerge
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told Fox News on Tuesday that he believed it was "likely" a vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant would eventually emerge.
"Every time that a variant appears in the world, our scientists are getting their hands around it," Bourla said. "And they are researching to see if this variant can escape the protection of our vaccine. "We haven't identified any yet, but we believe that it is likely that one day, one of them will emerge."
"The big concern is that the next variant that might emerge - just a few mutations, potentially, away - could potentially evade our vaccines," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said in a July 27 press briefing.
The UK government's advisory panel, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said higher rates of virus circulation and transmission were creating "more opportunities for new variants to emerge."
The CDC estimated 93% of US states were at a "high level of community transmission" as of Monday. New daily cases have more than quadrupled in the past month.
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