Where are We With a Vaccine?
- fionacsweet
- Nov 10, 2020
- 2 min read
A lot closer than I originally thought.
The drug maker Pfizer announced Monday that an early analysis of its coronavirus vaccine suggested that the vaccine was very effective in preventing COVID-19. The company said that the analysis found that the vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing the disease among trial volunteers who had not had the virus before, and there are no serious safety concerns with the vaccine.
Pfizer will ask the FDA for emergency authorization of the two-dose vaccine later this month, and by the end of the year it will have manufactured enough doses to immunize 15 million to 20 million people.
This development makes Pfizer the first company to announce positive results from a late-stage vaccine trial. However, 11 other vaccines are in late-stage trials (including 4 in the US), and Moderna's vaccine looks promising as they use similar technology.
Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to rush a vaccine, has promised Pfizer &1.95 billion to deliver 100 million doses to the federal government (which will then be given to Americans free of charge), but Dr. Jansen has also stated that she wishes to distance the company from presidential politics and has never received money from the federal government. However, later, a spokeswoman clarified that the company is in fact part of Operation Warp Speed as a supplier of a potential coronavirus vaccine. So, I'm not really sure where that's going.
In addition, we must remember that the data released on Monday was delivered to us in a news release, not a peer-reviewed medical journal. Therefore, it is not conclusive evidence that the vaccine is safe and effective, and the 90% number could change.
But, it's an extremely good sign that we are seeing results this good this soon. I choose to believe that this vaccine will be safe and effective, and will be administered to Americans shortly. My definition of shortly is about 6-7 months though, so we will see what happens. I'm just praying for some sort of graduation.
Overall, super exciting news!
Comments