Read on Twitter
This is big news: Pfizer says early phase 3 data of its #covid19 vaccine developed with German company BioNTech shows it to be about 90% effective in preventing disease with no serious safety concerns. Remember this is preliminary, but reason to be hopeful https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/health/covid-vaccine-pfizer.html
This is based on a review of data after 94 people in the trial developed #Covid19. Final analysis is planned for when there have been 164 #Covid19 cases in participants in the trial.
As usual, the caveats are as important as the results: We don’t know if these numbers will hold up. We don’t know how long immunity will last. Billions of doses will take time to produce. etc. But we are in a better place today than we were yesterday.
This story by @matthewherper lays out the results and caveats clearly: https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/09/covid-19-vaccine-from-pfizer-and-biontech-is-strongly-effective-early-data-from-large-trial-indicate/
“There is no information yet on whether the vaccine prevents severe cases, the type that can cause hospitalization and death.
Nor is there any information yet on whether it prevents people from carrying the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, without symptoms.”
Nor is there any information yet on whether it prevents people from carrying the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, without symptoms.”
But the most important thing to remember in all of this is that an effective vaccine if it comes will only be one tool of many that we need to fight #covid19. Better therapeutics and diagnostics are needed just as urgently.
It is worth remembering also that this particular vaccine will not be easy to distribute globally. It needs to be transported and stored at -70 degrees C and immunization needs two shots. Efficacy is just one factor of many that make a great vaccine.
If anyone wants to read what exactly Pfizer says about the results, press release is here: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-vaccine-candidate-against
There is also a statement up from @CEPIvaccines CEO @DrRHatchett that makes the same point about cold chain requirements: https://cepi.net/news_cepi/cepi-statement-in-response-to-announcement-from-pfizer-biontech-positive-interim-data-from-phase-iii-trial-of-covid-19-vaccine-candidate/
But Hatchett makes another, more hopeful point: “We believe these interim results also increase the probability of success of other COVID-19 candidate vaccines which use a similar approach [pre-fusion spike as their immunogen], including all of the vaccines in the CEPI portfolio”
