‘COVID-19 VACCINE CANDIDATE OVER 90% EFFECTIVE’ AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS

Mon 09 October 2020:

A vaccine against Covid-19 is in sight, with the announcement of the first interim results in large-scale trials showing the Pfizer/BioNTech candidate is 90% effective, according to the manufacturers.

The pharmaceutical firms said in a statement their vaccine candidate “has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against COVID-19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.”

The study had 43,538 participants, with 42% from diverse backgrounds, and analyzed 94 confirmed COVID-19 infections, with no serious safety concerns observed.

The companies said they will submit the vaccine candidate to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization, expected to occur in the third week of this month.

“The case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicates a vaccine efficacy rate above 90%, at 7 days after the second dose,” the statement noted.

“This means that protection is achieved 28 days after the initiation of the vaccination, which consists of a 2-dose schedule,” it added.

There are currently more than 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 around the world tracked by the World Health Organization, while none has been approved yet for general use.

The US and UK welcomed the development but urged patience.

“I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us so much cause for hope,” the US president-elect, Joe Biden, said. “It is also important to understand that the end of the battle against Covid-19 is still months away … a mask remains a more potent weapon against the virus than a vaccine. Today’s news does not change this urgent reality.”

A spokesman for the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: “The results are promising, and while we’re optimistic of a breakthrough we must remember that there are no guarantees.”

Many countries already have orders for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The UK has bought 30m doses – enough for 15 million people because two doses are required. The EU has secured 200m doses, which it will distribute. The companies have a $1.95bn contract with the US government to deliver 100m vaccine doses beginning this year.

There is an issue for low-income countries, however, because this is a vaccine that needs ultra-cold chain; it must be stored at -80C. The BioNTech chief executive, Uğur Şahin, has said his company is researching whether the vaccine might also be able to survive for up to five days at a normal fridge temperature of 4C.

In Germany, the government is planning to set up vaccination centres equipped with ultra-low-temperature freezers for the first phase of vaccinations.

There are currently more than 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 around the world tracked by the World Health Organization, while none has been approved yet for general use.

Globally, there are nearly 50.5 million infections and more than 1.2 million deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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