Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that the final analysis of its coronavirus vaccine was 95% effective in late stage trials — and it caused no serious concerns.
What’s going on?
Pfizer counted 170 cases of coronavirus infection among volunteers who participated in the trial stage.
- The company said there were 162 infections for those who got the placebo, or plain saline shots, while there were eight for those who got the vaccine.
- Pfizer said that means there’s a 95% efficacy rate.
- Pfizer said there were also 10 severe cases of COVID-19 in the trial. Nine cases came from the placebo group and only one came from the vaccinated group.
- The name of the vaccine is BNT162b2.
Key quote:
- “Efficacy was consistent across age, race and ethnicity demographics. The observed efficacy in adults over 65 years of age was over 94%,” said Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, said in a joint statement.
Flashback:
Pfizer and BioNTech said last week that the coronavirus vaccine was 90% effective, which I wrote about for the Deseret News. The analysis reviewed 94 confirmed cases among 43,000 participants in the vaccine trial.
CEO Dr. Albert Bourla told CNBC: “I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
What’s next?
View Comments
Pfizer will seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within the next few days, according to CNN.
- “The rapid protection this vaccine provides — combined with its tolerability profile in all age groups studied so far — should help make this vaccine an important tool to address the current pandemic,” said Dr. Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech.