Vaccines Articles
Featured Articles
Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Science & Innovation
Viral vs Bacterial Infections: Different Pathogens, Different Approaches
When you experience symptoms of an infection such as fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, or pain, knowing whether a virus or bacteria is making you sick may be the key to getting the right treatment and feeling better.1,2Viruses and bacteria are among the most well-known causes of infection.3 Infections occur when viruses or bacteria invade the human host and proliferate.3 But there are some important distinctions between them, and it’s important to determine whether it’s a bacteria or virus...
Science & Innovation
What You Need to Know About a Promising Vaccine Candidate that May Stem the Growing Risk of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States.1 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that state health departments reported over 63,000 cases in 2022.2 However, the CDC uses other methods to estimate that approximately 476,000 people in the U.S. may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually.2In other words, the estimated number of Lyme disease cases in the U.S. seems to be much higher than what is being reported to public health...
Purpose & Ideals
An Accord for a Healthier World: Working Together to Help Address Unmet Healthcare Needs in Lower-Income Countries
Currently, regulatory agencies may take up to seven years to approve essential medicines and vaccines in low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) from the time those same treatments were first approved in high-income countries, if they are approved at all.1 The burden remains disproportionately higher in low-income countries.2 Lack of access to quality healthcare is related to healthcare inequities in LMICs and hinders equitable access to safe and effective treatments.2Those living in LMICs...
Real People
Got Yours? Spokesperson Martha Stewart on Health and Wellness
Martha Stewart has seemingly done it all – she’s a lifestyle expert, media mogul, and even founded a care center to support the geriatric population.She recently chatted with Pfizer.com about why she joined the Got Yours? COVID-19 vaccination campaign, how her father’s job at Pfizer impacted her view on science, how she juggles her busy schedule and more!Pfizer: The first thing we wanted to ask you is why you chose to partner with Pfizer, and if you've had a favorite part of being involved in...
Living & Wellbeing
Severe COVID-19 and the Continuing Importance of Protecting High Risk Populations
The concept of "severe COVID-19" can be a frightening one, especially when the term itself is so often misunderstood or confused with having self-assessed severe symptoms of COVID-19.Approximately 80% of those who test positive for COVID-19 have mild to moderate illness.1 But adults 50 and older and people of any age with certain underlying health conditions are at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19. That adds up to two in five people worldwide who are at increased risk for severe COVID...
Living & Wellbeing
Why the COVID-19 Incubation Period Changes and How That Can Affect Us
Terms like “quarantine” and “social distancing” have been a natural part of our lexicon since 2020.But many of us are not standing six feet apart in public spaces anymore or quarantining after a COVID-19 exposure prior to testing. After all, these actions are no longer recommended for those who are vaccinated.1 The state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic may have expired,2 but it is still possible to contract the virus. As new variants have emerged and recommendations have evolved over time...
Programs & Initiatives
Avengers Assemble! Teaming Up with Marvel to Illustrate the Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination
Wait, Marvel? On Pfizer.com?For some, comic books may seem to be simply a form of entertainment featuring fantastical characters and mythical plots. However, through the years, they have proven to reflect and even influence our society. World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, AIDS, and 9/11 are only a few of the meaningful moments in our history that comic books have explored.So, it’s not so unusual to find Pfizer and BioNTech collaborating with Marvel Comics to create a story...
Science & Innovation
What Does mRNA Mean for the Flu Vaccine?
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, messenger RNA, or mRNA, has been in the spotlight for the critical role it’s playing in the first-ever approved mRNA vaccine.1 But in fact, Pfizer and BioNTech had entered into a worldwide collaboration agreement in 2018 to work on an mRNA vaccine for a different virus. “Pfizer's first partnership with BioNTech was to look at ways to develop a more effective flu vaccine,” says John McLaughlin, who is Vice President, COVID-19/Flu Vaccines & Antivirals Lead with...
Programs & Initiatives
Operation Eradication: The Global Health Community Comes Together to Defeat Meningitis by 2030
Bacterial meningitis strikes fast. Within hours, a fever, headache, nausea, and stiff neck can lead to brain damage, hearing loss, and other permanent disabilities, and potentially even death.1,2 Meningitis stems from infection in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation to the membranes surrounding them, called meninges.1,3 Bacterial meningitis is the most common form of the illness. As its name suggests, bacteria like Haemophilus influenzae (type B), Streptococcus...
Programs & Initiatives
Three Pfizer Partnerships to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine into African Countries and Vaccinations into Arms
In 2020, as Pfizer and BioNTech were still developing the COVID-19 vaccine, Julie Jenson was thinking about how to distribute that vaccine to every country around the world, regardless of that country’s means. Jenson, who is Director of International Product Access for Pfizer’s Global Health and Social Impact Team, knew even in those early days that the ultracold storage demands and shipping requirements of the vaccine could pose challenges in reaching people living in remote areas of low- and...
Science & Innovation
The Next Frontier of Vaccine Innovation
Edward Jenner changed the world when he used cowpox virus to inoculate a young boy against smallpox.1 Less than 200 years later, smallpox was eradicated from the Earth.2 Dozens of vaccines have since been created, leading to dramatic improvements in public health as well as a marked decline in deaths due to diseases such as measles, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus. Imagine what Jenner would say if he knew that at least two vaccines now help prevent cancers!3 Or that the world’s...
Living & Wellbeing
Understanding Six Types of Vaccine Technologies
Ever since the first vaccine was developed in 1796 to treat smallpox,1 several different methods have been created to develop successful vaccines. Today, those methods, known as vaccine technologies, are more advanced and use the latest technology to help protect the world from preventable diseases.2Depending on the pathogen (a bacteria or virus) that is being targeted, different vaccine technologies are used to generate an effective vaccine. Just like there are multiple ways to develop a...
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