Our COVID19 Vaccine 95% Effective, Had No Serious Safety Concerns: Pfizer
Mumbai: Pfizer of the US stated that the results after a late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with Germany’s BioNtech SE showed that it was 95% effective without any major side effects. Pfizer has the required two months of safety data and will apply to the emergency US authority within days.
The vaccine’s efficacy rate, the highest of any candidate in late-stage clinical trials, was welcomed by experts who had already stated that interim results showing Pfizer’s shot were more than 90% effective.
Pfizer stated that there were 170 cases of COVID-19 in a trial of more than 43,000 volunteers and that only eight people with the disease were given the pill instead of a placebo, meaning the vaccine had a 95% efficacy rate. One in 10 people who developed severe COVID-19 received the vaccine.
Also Read: Pfizer Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine Is More Than 90% Effective
“The data is very strong,” said Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the Britain’s University of Reading. “It looks like a real contender.”
Pfizer said it expected the US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine Advisory Committee to review and discuss the data in a public meeting that would likely be held in December.
Pfizer chief executive Albert Borla said, “We are moving at the pace of science, and we know that every day counts in our path to authority.”
Also Read: Moderna’s Early Data Shows Its COVID-19 Vaccine Is 94.5% Effective
The final analysis comes exactly one week after the initial results of the trial, which revealed that the vaccine was developed with the German partner BioNotech SE (BN.T.O.), which was more than 90% effective. Modern Inc. (MRNA.O) on Monday released preliminary figures showing 94.5% effectiveness for its vaccine.
Better-than-expected results from the two vaccines developed with both new vaccine RNA (mRNA) technology have raised hopes of ending an epidemic that has killed more than 1.3 million people and wreaked havoc on economies and daily life.
(With Reuters Inputs)
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