Pfizer seeking jab’s emergency approval
PFIZER has said it is asking US regulators to allow emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine.
The move could deliver a limited amount of first shots of the vaccine as early as next month and eventually an end to the pandemic – but not after a long, hard winter.
The action comes days after Pfizer and its German partner Biontech announced that its vaccine appears 95% effective at preventing mild to severe Covid-19 disease in a large, ongoing study.
The companies said that protection plus a good safety record means the vaccine should qualify for emergency use authorisation, something the Food and Drug Administration can grant before the final testing is fully complete. With coronavirus surging around the world, the pressure is on for regulators to make a speedy decision.
“Help is on the way,” Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert said on the eve of Pfizer’s announcement, adding that it is too
early to abandon masks and other protective measures. He said: “We need to actually double down on the public health measures as we’re waiting for that help to come.”
Not far behind is competitor Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. Its early data suggests the shots are as strong as Pfizer’s, and the company expects to also seek emergency authorisation within weeks.
It comes as California is imposing an overnight curfew for nearly all
residents as the state tries to head off a surge of coronavirus cases that threatens to overwhelm its health care system. What officials are calling a limited stay-at-home order requires people who are not on essential errands to stay home from 10pm to 5am starting today.
The order will last until December 21 but could be extended if disease trends do not improve.
Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths are surging nationwide ahead of Thanksgiving, when many will be tempted to gather with family and friends.
“The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic, and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are sounding the alarm,” California governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
Hospitalisations are up 64% in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Mexico has passed the 100,000 mark in Covid-19 deaths, becoming only the fourth country to do so.
Jose Luis Alomia Zegarra, Mexico’s director of epidemiology, said there were 100,104 confirmed Covid-19 deaths as of Thursday, leaving the country trailing just the US, Brazil and India in terms of overall death toll.
The milestone comes less than a week after Mexico said it had topped one million registered coronavirus cases, though officials agree the number is probably higher. nearly