The name is a portmanteau of letters and syllables:
CO = COVID-19 (which in turn stands for COronaVIrus Disease 2019, the year it was discovered);
MIRNA = mRNA, the snippets of genetic code that tell cells to build proteins (proteins similar to the COVID-19 spike proteins, so that antibodies are produced);
TY = a nod to the words ‘community’ and ‘immunity’.
The FDA approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine on Monday.
Will that move any anti-vaxxers to get their shots? Probably not, but more organizations big and small, public and private, will now mandate that their workers get vaccinated. For me, it’s nice to know the vaccine is officially A-OK.
Will Pfizer market Comirnaty on TV? I guess we shall see. It looks more and more likely that most of us will need booster shots by year’s end.
P.S. The US and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow full direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and vaccines. Pharma companies spent $5 billion on marketing in the US in 2016. (Sigh.)