Life is about to get back to normal for billions of people around the world after Pfizer and BioNTech announced today that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective at protecting people from the deadly virus.
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease.
“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,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO, in a statement.
“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.”
The companies said based on current projections, it expects to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
“The first interim analysis of our global Phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine may effectively prevent COVID-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort,” said Ugur Sahin, BioNTech co-founder and CEO.
