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The coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is 90% effective and prevents people from contracting COVID-19, according to preliminary analysis.
Pfizer and BioNTech have described the news as a “great day for science and for humanity “.
The vaccine has been tested in 43,500 people in six countries and has not caused any safety concerns so far.
Both companies plan to apply for an emergency approval to use the vaccine before the end of the month.
There are currently about a dozen vaccines that have reached the final stages of testing, but this is the first to show results.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine employs a completely experimental approach, which involves injecting part of the virus’ genetic code, thereby training the immune system to fight it.
Effective after the second injection
Previous trials have shown that the vaccine trains the immune system to produce antibodies and stimulates a set of cells, called T cells, to fight the coronavirus.
Two doses of the injection are needed, three weeks apart.
Trials – carried out in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey – show that 90% protection is achieved seven days after the second dose.
Pfizer estimates that it will be able to supply 50 million doses by the end of this year and about 1.3 billion by the end of 2021.
“One step closer”
But there are logistical challenges, as the vaccine must be kept under temperatures below -80ºC.
There are also doubts about how long immunity lasts.
The companies have also not provided a breakdown of the vaccine’s effectiveness in different age groups.
“We are one step closer to giving people around the world a much-needed breakthrough to help end this global health crisis,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, President of Pfizer.
For his part, Ugur Sahin, one of the founders of BioNTech, described the results as a milestone”.
The data presented this Monday they are not the final analysisInstead, they are based on the first 94 volunteers who tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the precise efficacy of the vaccine may vary when all results are analyzed.
Pfizer and BioNTech assure that they will have sufficient data on the safety of the vaccine by the third week of November and consequently they will be able to take it to the different regulatory entities.
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