COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Deliveries Can Happen Before Christmas 2020 'Only if Things Go Well'
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech could secure emergency US and European authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine in December 2020 after final trial results showed it had a 95 percent success rate and no serious side effects. Moderna on Monday released preliminary data for its vaccine showing 94.5 percent effectiveness.
Washington, November 19: Pfizer Inc and BioNTech could secure emergency US and European authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine in December 2020 after final trial results showed it had a 95 percent success rate and no serious side effects, the drugmakers informed on Wednesday.
In a positive news, the deliveries could start before Christmas 2020 only if all things take place positively. BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Reuters TV, "If all goes well I could imagine that we gain approval (from US FDA) in the second half of December and start deliveries before Christmas, but really only if all goes positively." Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Found 95% Effective in Final Analysis, Says Company in Joint Statement With BionTech.
The positive part was that the vaccine's efficacy was found to be consistent across different ages and ethnicities. BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Reuters TV that the US Food and Drug Administration could grant emergency-use by the middle of December.
Moderna on Monday released preliminary data for its vaccine showing 94.5 percent effectiveness. “We now have two safe and highly effective vaccines that could be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and ready to distribute within weeks,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was quoted saying.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 19, 2020 12:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).