Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that their coronavirus vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing infections, with no serious safety concerns, as the combined companies plan to seek approval from regulators “within days.”
A final analysis of the vaccine’s Phase-Three trial, involving over 43,000 volunteers, showed that 170 cases of coronavirus were detected among volunteers, with only eight cases detected among participants who got the vaccine and 162 in patients who took placebos, giving it a 95 percent efficacy.
The data backs up last week’s initial claim by Pfizer that early results showed the vaccine is more than 90 percent effective, with the company set to publish the information in a peer-reviewed journal, as well as submitting it to other regulatory agencies across the world.
With Phase Three of the trial complete, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they will apply for emergency authorization in the United States “within days.” The UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is expected to fast-track the authorization of the vaccine, meaning it could be ready for distribution by mid-December.
Discussing the trial, Dr Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, proudly stated: “The rapid protection this vaccine provides, combined with its tolerability profile in all age groups studied so far, should help make this vaccine an important tool to address the current pandemic.”
The news comes a day after US firm Moderna announced that its vaccine has shown similar success, with a 94.5 percent effectiveness in a trial involving 30,000 people.
Moderna is expected to apply within the next few weeks for authorization to begin distributing its vaccine.The world’s first coronavirus vaccine, Russia’s Sputnik V, has been proclaimed as 92 percent effective and is currently in its Phase-Three trial, which is due to involve 40,000 volunteers.
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