Pfizer says COVID-19 pandemic could extend to 2024

Amid growing concerns over the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) variant, Pfizer Inc said on Friday the pandemic could extend through next year. The vaccine making company also announced plans to come up with a three-dose vaccine regimen for children aged 2 to 16. 

If we talk about the new variant, initial data suggests that Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta and can be resistant to available vaccines. 

The United Kingdom is among the hardest-hit countries by Omicron variant as London mayor Sadiq Khan declared a "major incident" in the British capital (on saturday) owing to the spread of the new variant. 

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Also, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that the Netherlands will go into "lockdown" over the Christmas period to try to stop a surge of the Omicron variant. 

Meanwhile, Pfizer executives said the company believed that by 2024, the disease should be endemic around the globe, meaning it would no longer be a pandemic. The company projected that "COVID will transition to an endemic state potentially by 2024."

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Announcing plans to develop a three-dose regimen for ages 2 to 16, Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten told a conference call that results of three doses among people older than 16 showed that the approach offered greater protection.

"Therefore, we have decided to modify each of the pediatric studies to incorporate a third dose to the series and seek licensure for a three-dose series rather than a two-dose series as originally anticipated," the company said.

(With inputs from agencies)