Dr. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, accepts the WJC Theodor Herzl Award
The award, established in 2012, recognizes outstanding individuals who work to promote Herzl’s ideals through international support for Israel and enhanced understanding of Jewish history, culture and peoplehood.
“The past 20 months has been without question the strangest time in our lives. The entire world just stopped.” Amb. Lauder said in honoring Dr. Bourla. “In an unbelievably short time, vaccines went to trial and were produced. Pfizer was at the forefront of this effort.”
In his remarks, Dr. Bourla noted that Nov. 9 marks two “very different” anniversaries of personal significance.
“As the son of Holocaust survivors, Nov. 9 has been synonymous with Kristallnacht,” he said. “But Nov. 9, 2020, is a day I will always remember” for another reason because on that day “Pfizer delivered news to the world that clinical trials demonstrated that our vaccine works” and that lives would be saved.