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The coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is 90% effective and prevents people from contracting Covid-19, according to a preliminary analysis.
Pfizer and BioNTech described the news as a “big day for science and for humanity “.
The vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and has not caused any safety concerns so far.
Both companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine before the end of the month.
There are currently a dozen vaccines that have reached the final stages of testing, but this is it the first to show results.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine employs a completely experimental approach, which involves injecting part of the genetic code of the virus, thus training the immune system to fight it.
Effective after the second injection
Previous studies have shown that the vaccine trains the immune system to make antibodies and stimulates a set of cells, called T cells, to fight the coronavirus.
Two doses of injection are needed, three weeks apart.
Tests – conducted in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey – show that 90% protection is achieved seven days later of the second dose.
Pfizer estimates it will be able to deliver 50 million doses by the end of this year and about 1.3 billion by the end of 2021.
“One step closer”
But there are logistical challenges, as the vaccine must be kept at temperatures below -80 ° C.
There are also doubts about it how long immunity lasts.
The companies also did not provide a breakdown of the vaccine’s effectiveness in different age groups.
“We are one step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help end this global health crisis,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, president of Pfizer.
For his part, Ugur Sahin, one of the founders of BioNTech, described the results as a “hito”.
The data presented this Monday they are not the final analysisInstead, they are based on the first 94 volunteers who tested positive for COVID-19. Consequently, the precise efficacy of the vaccine may vary when all results are analyzed.
Pfizer and BioNTech assure that they will have sufficient data on the safety of the vaccine by the third week of November and consequently will be able to take them to the various regulatory bodies.
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