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Initial data show that the new corona vaccine developed by US-based pharmaceutical multinational Pfizer and German pharmaceutical company BioNTech has an effective rate of 90%.
The two companies described this as “a good day for humans and science”.
The vaccine has been reported to have undergone 43,500 trials in six countries and no safety concerns were found. The two companies are expected to swiftly apply for official pharmaceutical licenses by the end of November.
Experts point out that this is the fastest vaccine in human history that was designed from the ground up to successfully developed.
The analysis pointed out that although there are still some mass market challenges, the emergence of this vaccine at least gives people hope that the world will return to normal next spring.
Sir John Bell, a professor of medicine at Oxford University in the UK, said he was confident the new vaccine will be launched and the company will return to normal operations.
Here are the answers the BBC found for the six most common questions.
How effective is the new vaccine?
The new coronavirus vaccine and improved therapy are generally considered to be the only way people around the world can finally return to their normal life before the outbreak.
Experimental results of this new vaccine in six countries: the United States, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey show that 90% of people can gain immunity to the new coronavirus after receiving two injections within seven days.
Dr Albert Bourla, president of the US Pfizer group, said the advent of the new vaccine is an “urgently needed step” in humanity’s efforts to end the global epidemic crisis.
One of BioNTech’s founders, Professor Ugur Sahin, described the vaccine as a “milestone”.
When will the vaccine be available?
According to reports, before the end of 2020, only a very limited number of people in the world could get the vaccine.
The two pharmaceutical companies expect that at the end of November, sufficient data will be handed over to the government agency for health and drug regulation for approval. Before getting government permission, mass production and marketing are impossible.
Pharmaceutical companies predict that once licensed, it will be possible to produce around 50 million vaccines worldwide by the end of 2020 and around 1.3 billion vaccines can be supplied by the end of 2021.
It is reported that the UK could get around 10 million units by the end of 2020 and the UK has already ordered 30 million units upfront.
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Who has priority in the injection?
Since not everyone can get vaccines right away, many people want to know how to prioritize vaccine provision.
According to the UK government, medical staff will have top priority in obtaining vaccines, followed by those most likely to be infected with viral diseases, such as the elderly and those suffering from certain diseases.
The UK is likely to prioritize vaccinations for the elderly and nursing home staff after medical staff.
Healthy people under the age of 50 will be ranked last in the priority queue.
Are there any potential problems?
There are still some questions that require more data and answers. For example, it is not known whether people who have been vaccinated will no longer spread the virus and whether high-risk people can have the same efficiency. So how long can immunity last?
It may take several months for these issues to become clear.
In addition to the vaccine distribution problem, mass production and global supply will also be a huge logistical problem, because the vaccine must be stored at a low temperature of minus 80 degrees Celsius before injection.
What is the principle of the new vaccine?
There are currently about a dozen different types of new coronavirus vaccines in the final phase, which is called the third phase of the experiment, and the vaccines mentioned above are the first to show high efficiency.
This is a completely experimental therapy: scientists extract part of the protein encoded by ribonucleic acid inside the virus, add lipids and introduce it into human cells; the vaccine is imported into human cells to express the novel coronavirus spike protein gene; the human immune system then produces antibodies and activates T cells to destroy infected cells.
How is the reaction of all walks of life?
Professor Chris Whitty, the UK government’s chief medical adviser, said the new vaccine demonstrates the “power of science” and will give people a “cause for optimism” in 2021.
US President-elect Biden called this “great news”.
But Biden added: “It is also important that people do not forget that it could take several months to completely end the fight against the new corona epidemic.”
A spokesman for the British Prime Minister’s Office called the above findings “optimistic” and said the British National Medical System will always be ready to prioritize immunization of high-risk groups.
Professor Peter Horby, a professor at the University of Oxford, said ironically that he was delighted with the news and “smiles”.
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