Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tells "Axios on HBO" that he recently received his first of two doses of the company's coronavirus vaccine.
Why it matters: Bourla told CNBC in December that company polling found that one of the most effective ways to increase confidence in the vaccine was to have the CEO take it.
- However, Bourla waited until it was his turn in line to receive his shot, and told "Axios on HBO" that he now feels "liberated."
The big picture: Bourla said he'd advise a family member to get any vaccine offered to them, even those that aren't as effective against symptomatic disease as the Pfizer shot.
- "This is a pandemic. The vaccines that are approved by the FDA are all vaccines that are meeting the threshold," he said.
- "If it was the case, can I get a vaccine now — any vaccine now — or a vaccine that I prefer two months later, I would go with whatever I can get now."
The backstory: Pfizer and Moderna's coronavirus vaccines, which used mRNA, are upwards of 90% effective against any symptomatic disease.
- Johnson & Johnson's recently-authorized, one-shot vaccine appears to be significantly less effective against symptomatic disease, but equally as good at preventing hospitalization and death.
