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Courtesy of pfizer.com **FILE** Courtesy of pfizer.com
Pfizer has a coronavirus vaccine in the works specifically for the highly contagious delta variant of the virus — but it probably won’t even be needed since their existing vaccine works so well, the drugmaker’s CEO said.
“We are making right now a specialized vaccine for delta,” Pfizer’s Albert Bourla told “NBC Nightly News” on Monday. “I’m almost certain that we will not need it, because the booster shot of the current vaccine is very, very, very effective against delta, but we cannot take that chance.”
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration granted full authorization for the company’s vaccine, a development that Bourla said will help ease concerns of those hesitant to get vaccinated.
“For those people that were a little bit reluctant because they wanted to see a full approval, now they have the full confirmation of one of the most respected agencies in the world, the FDA, that the … vaccine is effective and safe,” Bourla told NBC’s Lester Holt.
As of Tuesday, only 51.5% of the total U.S. population was fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
