Welcome to firing line, albert bourla. Thank you very much, margar. D bourla, the question on everyones mind is, when will average americans realistically be able to get the covid19 vaccine . I believe, sometime in the next year maybe the third ord the seuarter. And the reason why im saying that we wl be able to provide to the American People around 20 million doses or more this year. But this is 10 Million People the health authoriould sure that like to use them strategically. So, at the beginning, who will get the vaccine will be predetermined by them. D kely, i assume, it will be people either with high risk or firstline workers. So i believe that we will reach a level around Second Quarter that maybe people can just go or at the physician officemacies at their will. Do you think, by next summer . I think so. Tell me about the shot. Ine. The vaccine uses mrna technology, which is a brough technology for vaccinations. Now,an you explain to us inen la terms exactly whais going on inside of a persons body whethey receive a dose of pfizers shot . When they receive a dose of pfizers shot, they are getting a very large number of smallpi nanoparticles. Lipid. Is is very small pieces of and inside each one of these particles, there is a code that it is an rna code. I remind you that rna de messenger rna is the way that cells are plicating information about dna. So, to make a long sto short, this messenger rna, it is a code that will tell our cells to produce proteins that they are similar to the proteins that the vaccine has. And that will create an immune response from our body as this happening. The mrna technology is a breakthrough technoly for vaccines. What does itean for the future of vaccines . I think, great news. Gyi think that mrna technos here to stay. I believe that in the future, this technology will be usedo produce many more vaccines against viruses, but also i believe it will be used in other medical applications, like, for example, fighting cancer and manothers. So, you said a person willts need two s in what timeframe will they need both of those shots . In our protocol and i think this is quite important only three weeks apart. That might seem like a lot to people who are used to just getting vaccinated once. There are several vaccines that there are two doses. Not the flu. Us lly, there are one dose of flu, but there are multiple vaccines that require two or ree doses. So i dont think people should have any concern with that. What was the moment, dr. Bourla, that you knew pfizer would vote itself to innovating a covid19 vaccine . Well, the moment was in march, when i really sat down with our scientific team, particularly the team that is responsible for the development sign of vaccines, and i asked them which technologies do they think we should be using if we wanted to develop a vaccine. H is when things started. Now, it may seem only nine months, but for me i a very long nine months,ur and, im for the world that they were living the consequences of this virus. I so, whirst heard and that was on this sunday at 2 00 p. M. When they called me to tell me that we have a successful vaccine, and then th told me the level of efficacy. And i was thrilled. D i ars in my eyes. Did you have any indication, before that moment, that the vaccine would be as successful or as efficaous as they reported to you . No, none. I was hoping, frankly, to successes in the 70 s. And fda was asking a minimum of 50 . To get the minimum of more than 90 actually, much to 100 than to 90 is a very big very big achievemt. Nearly 44,000 peopleip parted in the trial. Of those, 94 contracted covid19. Pfizer has announced that the vaccine is more than 90 effective. So does that mean, dr. Boua, that at least one of those 94 covid cases was contracted by someone who had received the vaccine . Yes, correct. There were very, very ses in the vaccinated group, and all the rest were in t placebo. This is how we calculated more than 90 . It is between 90 and 100 . Closer to the 100 . Let me put it this way. Ow ong do you think it will take to get emergency use authorization from the fda . I dont want to speak for themselves. Its not appropriate. They are an agency that they expertise, so theyeryific competent in understanding the nuances of new technologies. They are staffed by people of very high integrity. It that they hay highve seen sense of urgency, given that every day we have 1,400 people, right now, dying. I think they should take their time, but having in mind that people are needing this vaccine. If it were to go as fast as possib, when do you think the first First Responders and frontline workers could receive the vaccine . I believe, in december. And thats, right now, our plan. I think, december,hey should be able to get vaccinated. So, pfizer was e first to reveal its findings on the efficacy of the vaccine. You were followed this week by another company, and you tweeted about that company, i am thrilled to hear the good ne coming out of modernas covid19 Vaccine Development program. Our Companies Share a common goal defeating the dreaded disease and today we congratulate everyone at moderna and share in the joy of their encouraging results. A number of other companies are also in the final stages of trials. So, pfizer has plenty of company, doesnt it . Yes, and we hope that many of them will be successfu we know very well that the demand for these vaccines will be so high that none of us will be able to meet the demand 100 in the next one or two years. So its good if there are options. I hope they are equally effective, the other vaccines, so that we will be able to set an end to this pandemic sooner, rather than later. So, one of the differences between your vaccine and some of your competitors is the temperature at which is to be stored. The Pfizer Vaccine needs to be stored at 94 degrees below zero. How does the belowfreezing bumperature storage requirement impact your diston . Are there certain places in the world, for example, you wont be able to at least initially reach becae of the temperature requirement . I do not believe that would be anyplace in the modestly developed world. I think what we need is very basic astructure, like roads, for example, so a trackn ach the vaccination center. Our engineers designed a box a container that it has a small size Something Like that. And omis container can hold fr 1,000 to 5,000 doses. And its an isothermicso we load it with the vaccine, so loaded with dry iceand you can send it to wherever you want in the world, withouter refriged trucks or without refrigerated airplanes. Normal trucks or normal airplanes will carry it. I ons received there, people either can put it in super freezers that are available commercially and most of the facilities have. And then they can store it for months. T y can store it in this container that we send, for weeks, or they can put theoses that they want out of this container in the refrigerator and use it for days. So, just to be clear, youre saying, dr. Bourla, that theres where in the world that your vaccines wont reach . As i said, as long as a plane or a truck can go, the vaccine will be there. Is it true also theres been reporti that youre also working on a powdered version of your vaccine for the following year. Correct. We are working in a version that this powder will not need this supercold logistics and cold chain. Ou what issense, dr. Bourla, for how long the immunity . On will confer this is a very, very good question, and this is a major unknown for us and for every other vaccine. Are going to monitor th people that receive the vaccines for two years. And we will do that so that we can know when we have a drop in their immune responses. And we dont know before that. It is a reasonable scenario that at a cerin point, the immune response will fade, so then there will be a need for a revaccination. A good news is tt with the mrna technology, you can boost, you can revaccinate. So, last month, you began enrolling children as young as 12 years old in the trials. And those ildren would have now, at least, received a second shot. Whatan you tell us about the vaccines effect on children . You know, its too early,be use this is why we are doing the experiments. But i hope that children will have strong immune responses and they will be protected, if anything, better than adults, although its very difficult to have better protection, because its almost approaching perfection the ad Protection Level you have right now. But you think theres a chance that children could have even better results than the 90 plus that adults h its common in vaccinations that the younger the individual, the better the immune response of his body. So, as a result, the better the protection. Thats a common rule, but does not apply always. W need to make sure that this is happening with data. Youeleased some information about mild side effects of the especially for peoo have concerns about vaccines generally, what can you say to put peoples minds at ease . I think its very, very safe, from what we have seen so far, and we have seen thousands of people. The tolerability first of all, we have seen no seriouse advefect nothing. And the tolerabili, it is very good right now. I mean, like 10 , 11 , 12 of the people that may demonstrate, lets say, fever or headhe. Also, older people likely will not have any of that. Wi there be very, very little with older people. But the bottom line if t someone thin benefit that hes getting more than 90 , close to 100 protectn and less than 10 or maybe close to 10 that they will havo fevea day, i think it is, in the middle of a pandemic, i think its a nobrainer. And also, people need to understand that the decision to vaccinate or not yourself affects not only your health which is, at the end of the day, your own call will affect thl of your family, of your neighbors, of society. Y because dont vaccinate, youre becoming the weak link that will he this deadly virus replicate. So they need to really think it. Tell me, dr. Bourla, for someone who is watching the program and is inclined to be skeptical anyway, when they hear yoresay that its safe, they going to think, well, hes the c. E. O. Of the company. Of course hes saying its safe. Mmhmm. Hat can you say to help even the most skeptical feel confident in the safety of thee . Vacc i can tell that pfizer is a company with 170 years of legacy. And we would, at any cost, like to at any price, would like to respect this lecy. They are not convinced, still weve chosen to be extremely transparent with the development we published our pl. This is something that we never do. The protocols are discussions between us and regulators, not for public discussion. We signed pledgethat we committed that no matter what will be the political pressures, or any other type of pressures, we will only submit when we feel that we have a safe and effective vaccine, based on the guidance that have received from europe or fda. We started publishing our safety da before the study is completed. We never do these things. And then, of course, in addition ey that, they should hear scientists that now the information and they are known for telling things the way they are, le dr. Fauci and other dont have any interest for any particular company. They have, deep in their heart, the interest of the American People. , all of these things, i think, will be helpful to convince even the more skeic. Your company has a 170plusyear history. This Program Began airing in966. It was hosted by a man named william f. Buckley jr. ,d in 1989, on that progr William Buckley jr. Hosted a debate about freemarket competitiveness in the United States. Then a democrat congresswoman, Pat Schroeder argued in favor of governme involvement in research and development, and against u. N. Ambassador jeane kirkpatrick. I want to show you a clip from that program. Take a look. We noticed that. [ applause ] [ chuckles ] well, but the government. [ chuckles dr. Bourla, what is your view of the ideal relationship metween a private company and the federal gove, when it comes to partnership on a covid19 vaccine . To i havay i agree with the lady that spoke. I think the covid19 the success of the two vaccines so far is a great testament to the power of science, but also to the power of the private sector and the power of private sector. He hands of the i think of the speed with which you can move in the private sector, the risks that you c take without having to worry about your spending taxpayers money, and the waythat performance al is very focused in the private sector can create miracles. And despite the fact that i know very well that the pharmaceutical industry were not enjoying a hh reputation in the last few years, for reasons that we can discuss maybe in another show, but i believe that the way that the pharmaceutical orindustry worked and colled into the pandemic is a clear demonstrator of the valuable position that this industry has to socty. And i believe and i hope that this event will be a calyst that will help us bring the reputation up to the levels that it deserves. Its not going tbe enough, just this success. We need to keep doing the right thin but i think it is a ver very good first step. Its a great testament to the power of private industry. And i wonder if, dr. Bourla, having worked in universities and other labs, if y this vaccine could have beenin vated simply at the hands of private sector involved. You know, i dont want to speak if it was going to be or not, but i believe that the speed with which, and the quality with which we were able to move, this is something that very difficult can be aceved outside the private sector. I want to take a look at something President Trump said last week about your company, pfizer. Take a look. Pfizer said it wasnt part of warp speed, but that turned outb an unfortunate misrepresentation. P they at. Thats why we gave them the 1. 95 million billion. Rt and it was an unate mistake that they made when they said that. Okay, lets set the record straight. Unlike Companies Like moderna and johnson johnson, pfizer took no money for research and development. This is true. The u. S. Government will pay pfizer 1. 95 billion for 100 million doses if your vaccine is approved by the fda. Would you get any of thatcc without s fdaapproved vaccine . Ot no, we will and we havent first all, havent received anything yet. Second, we didnt receive the promise to receive anything for thdevelopment of our vacci or for the manufacturing at risk. We areaking all the risko manufacture the doses, but we have a contract that we are successful, we will sell at a certain price 100 million doses to the u. S. Government. And e contract clearly stipulates that if we fail toet regulatory approvals, the government owes us nothing. And we just have to write off the product. I felt that we would move much faster and much more reliable if i could protect my scientists from the bureaucracy. But when you get money, always comes with some strings attached. This is why we didnt get it. How would you characterize the level of risk you took on, as the c. E. O. Of a publicly traded company, if it hadnt worked . It was high. Very high. It was not going to break the company. Im not reckless. It took llions, right off. Its very painful for any rporation, even at our size. But i think it was a very well calculat risk, because it is a highly risky proposition, but u also highly rewarded if e getting it right. I dont think that pfizer had ever been admired by people all around the world more than the la one week. And myself and our employeesd a tremendous pride that were able to do that. And the fact that we are connecting our name with ati so to the largest, by far the biggest challenge that humanity facedn the last 100 years, its worth absolutelo the ri 2 billion. You wrote a letter to pfizers employees after the first president ial debate. You said. Dr. Bourla, why did you need to write that letter . Look, first of all, i was frustrated. Id heard our vaccine, the infort to save the world, discussed in political terms, msrather than scientific t and also i could see the danger of that and the danger of, in terms of Public Health perception, because when you p the vaccine in the heart of the debate, then, based r political affiliation, you will think that it is good or bad, safe or not safe, and you will take it or not. And this is terrible, aid, r the credibility that i much needed of a vaccine like that. I have 90,000 emoyees that were shocked to hear pfizers name there. And i told them thatpeople want us to move faster. Some people wants to move slower. We dont miss any of them. We will move at the speed of science. The speed of sciencs at a time that the political cynics say is ju to suspicious. I mean, the efficacy announcement came on monday,th novembertwo days after joe biden became therojected winner of the election. So, what do you say to those people who, as you said, were oh other side of the debate . I told them what i ld the other people before. If we could bring it in october, we would. This is 1,400 people dying every day. So this is not political, right . Yeah. And i heard the results, 2 00 on a sunday, anthe news came out 6 00 monday morning. And its its unfortunate to discuss this in political termsw but i dont hat else could i have done. Your personal story, dr. Bourla, is ratherab rema. I mean, you were a youre from greece. You are a trained veterinarian. Ent 25 years rising through the ranks at pfizer, before becoming its chief executive offi and im particularly interested in your rspective, as an immigrant to this country, on United States of america in this time of crisis. Its a great question. First of all, i have great admiration for this country. I became u. S. Citizen. And i like to say, im greek by birth, american by choice. And i remember when i was elected by my board, and they brought me in to inform me that i am going to be the next c. E. O. And they asked me, do you have anything to say . Ly i told them, n america, because i truly believe that this is the country that when you become american, you are one of tm. Ea this is no to accomplish in any other country of the world. One can debate the effectiveness of different governments, in terms of controlling the virus, and you can see unsputably in their results, in the outcomes. But peoplef america, i think they suffer as much as everybody else, and im very happy that now, at least, they can see the end at d, a little bit of light at the end, too, now, of theunnel. Finally, dr. Bourla, millions of americans are finalizingth r Holiday Plans right now. And as a person who has overseen the production of whatpe will be the solution to the pandemic, what is your advice for the next few months . Because, as you said, we wont hav