‘Normal life’ is just around the corner, says Pfizer boss
The boss of famed vaccine maker Pfizer expects that the world will soon return to “normal life”, as restrictions in the UK continue to fall away.
The government has today introduced the five-day isolation period to replace the former 10-day rule, as long as those self-quarantining have a negative Covid-19 test. While tests are also no longer needed for fully vaccinated travellers.
Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla told French newspaper Le Figaro that he anticipates normality to return around spring, helped by the increasing number of tests, vaccines and new treatments such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill.
“This wave would be the last with so many restrictions,” he separately told French broadcaster BFM TV, adding that the pill, which has been approved in the US, is a “game changer”.
It comes as Pfizer embarks on a five-year €520m investment in research and production in France, as part of president Emmanuel Macron’s annual ‘Choose France’ initiative, which seeks to entice international companies into the country.
The pharmaceutical giant is one of the few companies to emerge from the pandemic stronger than it entered.
Pfizer’s stock price has increased by 36 per cent in the last three months, as it prepares an Omicron-specific vaccine, which it expects to be ready in March.