Last week, BioNTech and co-developers Pfizer said preliminary analysis showed that their vaccine could prevent more than 90 percent of people from contracting Covid-19. Approximately 43,000 people participated in the tests.
Professor Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, told the BBC that the goal was to deliver more than 300 million doses worldwide by next April, which “could allow us to start making an impact.”
He said the biggest impact would occur later, adding: “Summer will help us because the infection rate will go down in the summer and what is absolutely essential is that we get a high vaccination rate until or before the fall / winter of next year. “.
If everything continued to go well, he said, the vaccine would begin delivery “late this year, early next year.”
Sahin said he was confident the vaccine would reduce human-to-human transmission and stop the development of symptoms in someone who has received the vaccine.
He said it was possible that the vaccine could cut transmission in half, which would have a big impact.
“I am very confident that human-to-human transmission will be reduced with such an effective vaccine, maybe not by 90 percent, but perhaps by a percentage, but we must not forget that even that could result in a drastic reduction in spread. of the pandemic “. added.
He said this winter would still be difficult as the vaccine would not have a large impact on the number of infections.
Globally, more than 54,068,000 confirmed cases have been reported. The highly contagious disease, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more than 1,313,000.
The United States is the worst affected country with more than 10,908,000 confirmed cases and 245,600 deaths, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.
The UK is expected to receive 10 million doses of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine by the end of the year, with another 30 million doses already ordered. The jab, which has been tested in six countries, is given in two doses, three weeks apart.
Older residents and nursing home staff are likely to be prioritized, followed by health workers and those over 80. People would then be classified by age, the BBC report said.
When asked if the vaccine was as effective in older people as in younger people, he said he hoped to get a better idea in the next three weeks.
He said it was not yet known how long immunity would last after the second dose of the vaccine is administered.
However, he said, a booster shot “shouldn’t be too complicated” if immunity is found to be significantly lowered after one year.
Sahin also said that the “key side effects” of the vaccine seen so far were mild to moderate pain at the injection site for a few days, while some participants had mild to moderate fever for a similar period.
“We did not see any other serious side effects that could result in pausing or stopping the study,” he added.
Its vaccine is one of 11 currently in the final stages of testing.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides initial evidence of the ability of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19, ”said Dr. Albert Bourla, President and CEO of Pfizer on November 9. .
“With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help end this global health crisis,” Bourla said in a statement.
“The first interim analysis of our global phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine can effectively prevent COVID-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort, ”Sahin said last week.
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