Covid vaccine: first ‘milestone’ vaccine offers 90% protection

The first effective vaccine against the coronavirus can prevent more than 90% of people from contracting Covid-19, a preliminary analysis shows.

The developers, Pfizer and BioNTech, described it as a “great day for science and humanity.”

Its vaccine has been tested in 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised.

The companies plan to request an emergency approval to use the vaccine before the end of the month.

No vaccine has gone from the drawing board to being highly effective in such a short time.

There are still huge challenges ahead, but the announcement has been very well received by scientists who describe themselves smiling “from ear to ear” and some suggest that life could return to normal in the spring.

“I’m probably the first to say that, but I’ll say it with some confidence,” said Sir John Bell, a professor of medicine at the University of Oxford.

A vaccine, along with better treatments, is considered the best way out of the restrictions that have been imposed on all of our lives.

The data shows that two doses are needed, three weeks apart. Trials, in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, and Turkey, show that 90% protection is achieved seven days after the second dose.

However, the data presented is not the final analysis, as it is based only on the first 94 volunteers to develop Covid, so the precise efficacy of the vaccine may change when the full results are analyzed.

Dr. Albert Bourla, President of Pfizer, said: “We are a significant step closer to bringing people around the world a much-needed breakthrough to help end this global health crisis.”

Professor Ugur Sahin, one of the founders of BioNTech, described the results as a “milestone”.

A limited number of people can get the vaccine this year.

Pfizer and BioNTech say they will have enough safety data by the third week of November to bring their vaccine to regulators.

Until it is approved, countries will not be able to start their vaccination campaigns.

The two companies say they will be able to supply 50 million doses by the end of this year and about 1.3 billion by the end of 2021. Each person needs two doses.

The UK should receive 10 million doses by the end of the year, and another 30 million doses have already been ordered.

Not everyone will get the vaccine right away and each country is deciding who should be given priority.

Hospital staff and home-based workers will be at the top of all lists because of the vulnerable people they work with, as well as the elderly who are at higher risk for serious illnesses.

The UK is likely to give priority to older residents in nursing homes and the people who work there.

People under the age of 50 and without medical problems are likely to be last in line.

Many unanswered questions remain, as these are only provisional data.

We don’t know if the vaccine stops the spread of the virus or just stops developing symptoms. Or if it works just as well in high-risk older people.

The most important question, how long does immunity last, will take months or potentially years to answer.

There are also huge manufacturing and logistical challenges in immunizing large numbers of people, as the vaccine must be kept in ultra-cold storage below -80 ° C.

The vaccine seems safe from large trials so far, but nothing, including acetaminophen, is 100% safe.

There are about a dozen vaccines in the final stages of testing, known as a phase 3 trial, but this is the first to show results.

It uses a completely experimental approach, which involves injecting part of the virus’s genetic code, to train the immune system.

Previous trials have shown that the vaccine trains the body to produce both antibodies, and another part of the immune system called T cells, to fight the coronavirus.

UK chief medical adviser Professor Chris Whitty said the results showed the “power of science” and were “cause for optimism” for 2021.

US President-elect Joe Biden said it was “excellent news.”

“It is also important to understand that the battle against Covid-19 is still months away,” he added.

The official spokesperson for the UK prime minister said the results were “promising” and that “the NHS is ready to start a vaccination program for those most at risk once the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available.”

Professor Peter Horby of Oxford University said: “This news made me smile from ear to ear.

“It’s a relief … there is a long way to go before vaccines start to make a real difference, but this seems like a watershed moment to me.”

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