Albert Bourla: Pfizer CEO | Lex Fridman Podcast #249

The following is a conversation with Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. If you would like to skip ahead to our conversation, the timestamps as always are below. But if not, please allow me to say a few words about truth and human nature, specifically about two groups of people throughout history that seek to lay claim to the truth. The first group will tell you that only they possess the truth and that the government will save you, the company will save you, the science, the authorities, the experts, the institutions will save you. The second group too will tell you that only they possess the truth and that the government will hurt you, the company will hurt you, the science, the authorities, the experts, the institutions will hurt you. Both groups have the benevolent and the malevolent, their heroes and their charlatans. And I think the hard truth is that no one in this world can tell you with absolute certainty which is which. You have to use your mind. This is the burden of being human, of being free. Don't blindly follow any leader, neither the emperor nor the martyr who points out that the emperor has no clothes. And then there's the lessons of history. Vaccines have saved hundreds of millions of lives in the past century, and in general, the advance of medicine has saved billions of lives. If you ignore the power of science, you're not being honest with the lessons of history. And if you ignore the corrupting nature of power and money within institutions, including governments and companies that led to the suffering and death of hundreds of millions in the past century, you are once again not being honest with the lessons of history. I announced that I will be having this conversation with Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, and a lot of people wrote to me. I would like to say that I was and am and always will be listening and learning with an open mind from everyone. My own opinion, worth little as it is, is that the development of the COVID vaccines is one of the greatest accomplishments of science in recent history. For the rest, from safety and efficacy to policy and economics, I stand humbled before a complicated world full of fear and anger. A small number of malicious people from all walks of life will use that fear and anger to divide us because the division makes them money and gives them power. I took two shots of the Pfizer vaccine. This was my decision. I don't ever want to force this on anyone, and I certainly don't want to dismiss your concerns, or worse, you as a person if you choose not to get vaccinated. I can assure you one thing. In this conversation and in any conversation, the choice of questions I ask and words I say is mine and mine alone. When my words fall short, as they often do, it is only because of the limitations of my mind and of my speaking ability. It is not due to pressure or fear. I'm not afraid of anyone. I cannot be bought by anyone with money, power, or fame. I hope to prove this to you and to myself in the coming years. This life is short, and to me, without integrity, it is not worth living. People sometimes talk down to me, call me naive. Perhaps they are right, but it is who I am. I think this life, this world, this, our human civilization, is beautiful. And as Dostoevsky said, "Beauty will save the world." This is a Lex Fridman podcast, and here's my conversation with Albert Bourla. The development of the COVID-19 vaccine was one of the greatest accomplishments of science in recent history. No matter what, this should give people hope for the future, and yet it is more of a source of division. I hope we can discuss both the inspiring and the difficult ideas in this conversation so that we can do our small part in healing this division.