On March 21, Facebook user Beka Vardosanidze published a post stating that Pfizer’s executive director Albert Bourla hasn’t received the COVID-19 vaccine and as he explains, it’s due to the vaccine not being recommended for his age group. On March 22, Beka Vardosanidze shared CNBC’s article on this topic and noted in the caption that Pfizer’s CEO hasn’t gotten the vaccine because it’s not recommended for his age group.
Vardosanidze’s claim alleging that Pfizer’s CEO hasn’t gotten the vaccine is disinformation. On March 7, Albert Bourla stated that he received the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The second post with CNBC’s article is manipulation since Bourla had already been vaccinated when the article was shared, whereas, in the publication itself, Bourla only spoke about waiting for his turn amid the vaccination.
- ● Has Pfizer’s CEO received the vaccine?
On March 7, Pfizer’s CEO spoke to media outlet AXIOS and noted that he recently received the first dose of vaccine and feels “liberated” because society expected a rapid vaccination from him. Bourla didn’t specify the exact date of his vaccination.
It is noteworthy that the information about Pfizer representatives postponing the visit to Israel was published on March 5. Boura was part of the delegation, however, as Pfizer explained, it would be better to postpone the visit since Bourla and some of his team members only have had their first shot of vaccine.
As for the false claim about Bourla not planning to get vaccinated because it’s not recommended for his age group, Vardosanidze referred to CNBC’s December 14, 2020 article as the source of information
In reality, 3 months ago Bourla announced the reason for the postponement of his COVID-19 immunization and it wasn’t because the vaccine wasn’t recommended for his age (59), but because he didn’t want to cut in line despite the fact that he’s the head of the vaccine manufacturing company. Information in the CNBC article also elaborates that Bourla is 59 years old, in good health, and wouldn’t receive the vaccine before the other people who needed it more. It’s also emphasized that Bourla didn’t serve as a medic during the pandemic and therefore would wait for his turn after the vaccination of the most prioritized groups: elderly and medical personnel.
Bourla also noted that the Pfizer executives and board members wouldn’t cut in line and would get vaccinated only when it was their turn, which took place at the beginning of March.
It’s important to note that Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is recommended not only for people under the age of 65, but it also showed 94% efficiency in the 65+ age group.
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