Wanted: A Covid Booster That Actually Works
Pfizer is struggling because not enough people are getting annual Covid shots. The problem is that the boosters aren’t very effective.
Time to build a better mousetrap.
Photographer: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
The public’s waning concern over Covid is the main reason cited for plunging stock prices and impending layoffs at Pfizer. The company bet big that people would sign up for annual Covid-19 mRNA boosters the way they do for flu shots. But people aren’t: On Friday, Dec. 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that only 18% of adults had gotten the latest Covid shot, compared with 42% who’d gotten a flu shot.
One challenge facing the fall booster campaign is the lack of a seasonal pattern for Covid. With the flu, there’s a predictable seasonal pattern and getting a shot in the fall can protect the vulnerable through the worst of the winter wave. By contrast, Covid continues to show surges of activity all year.