Pfizer's CEO said the company is currently focused on developing a COVID-19 vaccine that offers protection for at least one year in anticipation that longer lasting efficacy will encourage more people to stay up to date with vaccine recommendations.
"I recognize that the biggest challenge for the healthcare system right now will become the compliance with vaccination recommendations," Albert Bourla, Pfizer's chairman and CEO, told attendees at Fortune's Brainstorm Health conference on May 10.
He said people will be less inclined to stay up to date with boosters if they only offer sufficient protection for several months.
"[That's] why working on an annual vaccine, or a vaccine that will last at least a year, is the holy grail right now, and we are very intensively researching this," Mr. Bourla said.
A recent study from researchers at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente found booster protection against hospitalization wanes after three months, falling from about 80 percent to 90 percent to 55 percent.
To read the CDC's current booster recommendations, click here.