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The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been found to be 90% effective in preventing people from contracting the virus.
Phase 3 of the Pfizer trial involved 43,538 participants from six countries. They received two doses of the immunization or a placebo, with 90% protection against the virus within 28 days of the injection.
Only 94 people who participated in the trial developed coronavirus and no serious safety issues were reported, the US pharmaceutical company said.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 The vaccine trial provides initial evidence of the ability of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19, “said Pfizer President and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla.
“With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to giving people around the world a much-needed breakthrough in helping to end this global health crisis.
The news saw rising stock markets, with the FTSE 100 rising 5.5%, adding £ 82bn to its share value and resulting in its best trading day since March.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is one of 12 worldwide in the final stages of testing, but it is the first to produce results.
American and German companies say they can supply 50 million doses by the end of 2020 and 1.3 billion by the end of 2021.
The UK government has secured around 40 million doses, enough for 20 million people, and could roll out 10 million by the end of the year if approved for use in time.
Pfizer says it will apply to the US health care regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, later this month to get emergency approval to use the vaccine.
A UK government spokesman said he is “optimistic about a breakthrough” but urged people to remember that “there are no guarantees”.
When the NHS is ready to implement the vaccine, people who live and work in nursing homes will be top priority, followed by the elderly and the clinically vulnerable, they added.
Medical director Professor Chris Whitty described it as “cause for optimism for 2021.”
But Brendan Wren, professor of microbial pathogenesis at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, suggested that it can be difficult for GPs to store vaccines, as they must be kept at temperatures of -80 ° C.
He told Sky News: “Certainly a lot can be done, but whether it can be brought to all who need it is another matter and so it is good that other vaccines are available.”
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Sky News science correspondent Thomas Moore said the results “exceed the expectations of many scientists.”
Peter Horby, professor of emerging diseases and global health at the University of Oxford, described the development as a “watershed moment.”
He said: “This news made me smile from ear to ear. It is a relief to see such positive results from this vaccine and it bodes well for COVID-19 vaccines in general.”
Michael Head, senior researcher in global health at the University of Southampton, commented: “This cautiously sounds like an excellent Phase 3 result, but we must be a bit cautious: the study is ongoing.
“However, if the final results show close to 90% response effectiveness in the elderly and ethnic minority populations, that is an excellent result for a first-generation vaccine.”
William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, added: “The efficacy data is really impressive.
“This is better than most of us anticipated. I would have loved an efficacy of 70% or 75%, 90% is very impressive for any vaccine. The study is not complete yet, but the data seems very strong “.
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