Pfizer said Thursday that it will soon seek authorization for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine — one that could help protect again surging coronavirus variants.
- Pfizer said the third shot — given within 12 months of the first two doses — could boost immunity to ward off coronavirus mutations, The Associated Press reports.
Pfizer’s Dr. Mikael Dolsten told The Associated Press that the company’s own booster study showed that a third shot raised people’s antibodies by five to 10 times compared to the second dose.
When will Pfizer seek approval?
So you’ll have to wait a bit. Pfizer said it plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization for the third dose in August, The Associated Press reports.
New booster for delta variant
Pfizer and BioNTech said they are working together to develop a COVID-19 booster shot that will target the delta variant specifically, according to CNBC.
- Though they said the first booster shot they developed will stop variants, they want to create another vaccine dose that could stop the delta variant more easily, USA Today reports.
The companies said they will have a clinical trial soon that will test that third dose of the virus. It’s unclear if you will have to get the third dose and the delta third dose, which would make it a fourth dose, technically.