COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective, trials suggest

The first COVID-19 vaccine can stop 90% of people getting infected with the virus, according to the manufacturersThe first COVID-19 vaccine can stop 90% of people getting infected with the virus, according to the manufacturers.

Large-scales trials of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine suggests it marks a major breakthrough in the global effort to stamp out coronavirus.

The manufacturers called it a ‘great day for science and humanity’.

So far, no serious side effects have been reported.

Evidence of vaccine’s ability

This comes as regulators confirm they would approve a vaccine that is just 50% effective.

The vaccine was tested on more than 43,500 people across six different countries.

According to the Guardian, Dr Albert Bourla – the Pfizer chairman and chief executive – said: ‘Today is a great day for science and humanity.

‘The first set of results from our phase three COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19.’

Critical milestone

He added: ‘We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development programme at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.’

Pfizer predicted they can supply around 50 million doses by the end of 2020. This will increase to around 1.3 billion by the end of 2021.


Author’s analysis

This news marks a significant turning point in the pandemic. With a reported 90% effectiveness rate, this could help to lift the world out of its current state sooner than anyone predicted.

But of course, there are still plenty of unanswered questions surrounding COVID-19 – and plenty of challenges too.

For example, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding how long immunity lasts for.

We’re also awaiting on the results of other trials, including that for the Oxford University vaccine.

Using different technology to the Pfizer vaccine, results for this are not expected to be available until the end of this month or early December.


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