Pfizer’s 90% Effective COVID-19 Vaccine is (Nearly) Here
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on people worldwide, and the loss of life and rising infection rates are worsening an already grim situation. Fortunately, the production of a 90% effective vaccine could alter our current reality and become a major advancement that saves lives worldwide.
On Monday, November 9th, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced an early look at its data from its latest coronavirus vaccine showing that it is over 90 percent effective. The vaccine was developed in collaboration with Muslim Turkish-German partners from a company called BioNTech. The vaccine requires two doses, meaning two shots, then 28 days after vaccination, protection is achieved through the development of antibodies in the body.
An interim analysis of the vaccination was completed on the first 94 participants with confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the more than 43,000 volunteers who got either two doses of the vaccine or a placebo. The results showed that fewer than 10% of infections occurred in patients who received the vaccine, meaning that the vaccine is 90% effective, which is greater than what many had imagined. This comes at a pivotal time, as cases in the United States are skyrocketing. The United States has had over 12.2 million positive cases and a total of over 256,000 deaths. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in the world is at more than 55 million and the overall death toll worldwide is 1.34 million.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called the COVID-19 vaccine "the greatest medical advancement" to occur in more than one hundred years. Pfizer will apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for early approval of the vaccine before the end of November. If approved, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious disease expert, said vaccines were "going to start being implemented and deployed in December, and as we get into the early part of the year, it’s going to be January, February, March, more and more and more people are going to be able to be vaccinated." Pfizer also reports that “no corners were cut” in the vaccine's development, meaning there are no safety concerns for the moment.
Pfizer believes it could make up to 50 million doses of the vaccine available globally this year and an additional 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021. There are two plants that will produce this life-changing vaccine, one of which is located in the United States and will only supply vaccines to the United States. The second plant, in Europe, will make vaccines available for the rest of the world.
So far, the second dose has already been given to 38,955 of the volunteers in the Pfizer trial. The company says they have involved volunteers of racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds for 30% of U.S. trials. Using a variety of people with diverse backgrounds is crucial to this study in order for researchers to determine if the vaccine is effective for everyone. In international trial sites of the vaccine, 42% of participants are racially and ethnically diverse. The vaccine will be administered free of charge in the U.S., and Pfizer and Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine collaboration will hopefully provide the world with relief in the coming months.
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