As the world grapples with an increase in COVID-19 cases, Pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer and BioNTech announced their vaccine against the Coronavirus is more than 90% effective, based on the first interim efficacy analysis conducted on November 8, 2020, by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity. With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.”-Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO
The reported analysis evaluated 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in participants. Over 43,000 participants were involved in the study with 42% of them having diverse backgrounds. The vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing the coronavirus.
The vaccination, which consists of a 2-dose schedule shows a 90% efficacy rate at 7 days after the second dose. The third phase of this trial began on July 27 with 42% of global participants and 30% of United States Participants all with racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. The trial is continuing to enroll participants and is expected to continue through the final analysis.
Pfizer and BioNTech are projecting global production of up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and 1.3 billion doses in 2021. A full copy of the study is available here.
Danielle Sanders is a Journalist and Writer living in Chicago. Find her on social media @DanieSandersOfficial.