Great News: Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Showing 90 Percent Effectiveness in Phase 3 Trial
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Pfizer and BioNTech announced in a joint press release that the coronavirus vaccine they are developing together seems to be highly effective for protecting against the disease.
The drug company and the German biotechnology firm say early data analysis from their large-scale trials show that their vaccine has a 90 percent rate of effectiveness for protecting against the symptoms of Covid-19. Additional data from their ongoing Phase 3 trials could impact the final results, though the news is a major signal that the fast-tracked development of a coronavirus vaccine might succeed.
From Stat:
In keeping with guidance from the Food and Drug Administration, the companies will not file for an emergency use authorization to distribute the vaccine until they reach another milestone: when half of the patients in their study have been observed for any safety issues for at least two months following their second dose. Pfizer expects to cross that threshold in the third week of November.
“I’ve been in vaccine development for 35 years,” William Gruber, Pfizer’s senior vice president of vaccine clinical research and development, told STAT. “I’ve seen some really good things. This is extraordinary.” He later added: “This really bodes well for us being able to get a handle on the epidemic and get us out of this situation.”
The Pfizer study was an international trial involving around 44,000 people, and according to Washington Post, there were 94 cases of Covid-19 observed in people who were not previously infected with the virus. Pfizer says none of the patients have become seriously ill during the trial, however.
“Fewer than nine of those cases were among people who received two shots of the vaccine, a strong signal of efficacy,” the Post says. “The data is not yet published or peer-reviewed, and the company news release could not be presented to outside experts under the terms of an embargo.”
Since the trial is ongoing, it is not yet definitive if the FDA will end up approving the possible vaccine, nor how long it will take before its ready for mass distribution.
