Pfizer Claims Its Vaccine is Now 95% Effective

A week after announcing that their M-RNA vaccine had shown 90% efficacy in combating the novel coronavirus, Pfizer, in a statement on Wednesday claimed that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate was found to be 95 percent effective with no serious side effects in the final analysis of the Phase 3 trial, adding it had the required two-months of safety data and would apply for emergency US authorization within days.

After deeming the vaccine to be 90% effective two days before Moderna announced a 94.5% effectiveness, the US drugmaker and its German partner BioNTech announced that their vaccine is even more effective at preventing the disease than what they previously thought before.

Source: CBC

Pfizer stated that the vaccine contender was consistent across age and ethnicity demographics and that there were no major side effects, a sign that the immunization could be employed broadly around the world. The companies said there have been no serious side effects among the 41,135 adults who received two doses. The most common reactions were that 3.7 percent of them experienced fatigue and 2 percent had a headache, they said.

As reported by NBC News, “The study results mark an important step in this historic eight-month journey to bring forward a vaccine capable of helping to end this devastating pandemic,” Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said in the statement. The study reached 170 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with the vaccine candidate BNT162b2 demonstrating 95 percent efficacy beginning 28 days after the first dose.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

“Additionally, the safety milestone required by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has been achieved. To date, no serious safety concerns related to the vaccine candidate have been reported. Within days, we plan to submit a request to the US FDA for a EUA based on the totality of safety and efficacy data collected, as well as manufacturing data relating to the quality and consistency of the vaccine candidate,” the company added.

Once approved, Americans will receive the shot for free, under a $1.95 billion deal the federal government reached with Pfizer for 100 million doses.