Pfizer CEO Predicts ‘Return to Normal’ by Spring But Expects COVID-19 to Circulate for Years

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told French news outlets in recent interviews that, while he expects COVID-19 to continue to circulate for many years, he thinks future waves won’t be beset by major restrictions while predicting life will return to “normal” around springtime.

Bourla told French news outlet Le Figaro in an interview published Jan. 16 that he expects a “return to normal life” at some point in spring of this year, with the caveat that the dynamics of COVID-19 mutations and spread cloud the accuracy of any predictions.

The Pfizer chief credited developments in COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and therapeutics for his optimistic outlook, telling BFM TV in a separate interview that he expects the current Omicron-driven wave to be the “last with so many restrictions.”