Pfizer Inc. on Friday forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic would not be behind us until 2024 as 2-4 year-olds vaccine data is delayed.
The company said it is testing a three-dose course of the vaccine in all age groups under 16, including 2-4 year olds. It had previously expected data from that age group this year, but said it did not expect the delay would meaningfully change plans to file for emergency use authorization in the second quarter of 2022.
Pfizer chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten said that the company expects some regions to continue to see pandemic levels of Covid-19 cases over the next year or two. Other countries will transition to “endemic” with low, manageable caseloads during that same time period.
By 2024, the disease should be endemic around the globe, the company projected.
“When and how exactly this happens will depend on the evolution of the disease, how effectively society deploys vaccines and treatments, and equitable distribution to places where vaccination rates are low,” Dolsten said. “The emergence of new variants could also impact how the pandemic continues to play out.”
Pfizer developed the vaccine with Germany’s BioNTech SE . Both the companies has been developing a version of their vaccine tailored to combat the quick-spreading omicron variant, although they have not decided whether it will be needed.
The company said it is testing a three-dose course of the vaccine in all age groups under 16, including 2-4 year olds. It had previously expected data from that age group this year, but said it did not expect the delay would meaningfully change plans to file for emergency use authorization in the second quarter of 2022.
Pfizer chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten said that the company expects some regions to continue to see pandemic levels of Covid-19 cases over the next year or two. Other countries will transition to “endemic” with low, manageable caseloads during that same time period.
By 2024, the disease should be endemic around the globe, the company projected.
“When and how exactly this happens will depend on the evolution of the disease, how effectively society deploys vaccines and treatments, and equitable distribution to places where vaccination rates are low,” Dolsten said. “The emergence of new variants could also impact how the pandemic continues to play out.”
Pfizer developed the vaccine with Germany’s BioNTech SE . Both the companies has been developing a version of their vaccine tailored to combat the quick-spreading omicron variant, although they have not decided whether it will be needed.
