Pfizer, BioNTech say Covid-19 vaccine candidate 90% effective

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Monday that its candidate Covid-19 vaccine was 90% effective, far exceeding expectations and paving the way for rapid approval meaning it could be in use before the end of the year.

It is a milestone achievement by Donald Trump’s White House Administration following its launch of Operation Warp Speed, a multi-billion dollar program with the private sector aimed at fast-tracking the research and development of vaccines and therapeutics against Covid-19.

The virus is spreading uncontrollably in the United States and Covid-19 has killed at least 237,000 people in the country.

The BNT162b2 vaccine, which uses Messenger RNA tech, is being developed jointly by Pfizer and German company BioNTech, has passed rigorous clinical trials and analyses of preliminary Phase 3 data conducted by an independent committee, which confirmed its effectiveness.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent Covid-19,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO, Dr. Albert Bourla, said.

The high level of efficacy was noted seven days after the second dose of the vaccine was administered — 28 days after the first dose.

The data comes from observations made on the first 94 volunteers to test positive for Covid-19 and the level of protection the vaccine offers could vary by the time it is approved by regulators.

Pfizer and BioNTech hope to manufacture 50 million doses of the vaccine in 2020 and 1.3 billion in the coming year, according to the statement.

They added that they should have enough safety data on the vaccine to be able to submit the product for approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration by the third week of November.

Once it gets approval from the FDA, the first doses could be given to healthcare workers or members of high-risk health groups before the end of the year.

Although Trump had raised expectations on a vaccine announcement before the presidential elections on 3 November, the information from Pfizer comes just two days after his defeat to Democratic Party rival Joe Biden.

On Monday, the president-elect said the vaccine announcement was a “cause for hope” but tempered his message with a warning that the “end of the battle against Covid-19 is still months away.”

Biden learned of the vaccine breakthrough on Sunday evening. In a statement, he said Americans should still wear face masks and maintain social distancing.

The announcement also comes just a day after the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases around the world surpassed 50 million, according to John Hopkins University. Over 1.25 million people have died from the disease.

With more than 100,000 cases each day, the US is a global virus hotspot. In Europe, which represents more than a quarter of cases worldwide, governments are enforcing restrictions in a bid to keep a check on a second wave of the virus.

India and Latin America have also been badly affected by the pandemic, which is showing no signs yet of remission, for which reason the only viable option to leave the pandemic behind appears to be a vaccine.

Any vaccine would need to be distributed en masse.

The announcement from Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday raised hopes that a pathway out of the pandemic is getting closer.