Promising vaccine trial results

THE Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech prevented more than 90% of infections in a study of tens of thousands of volunteers, the most encouraging scientific advance so far in the battle against the coronavirus.

Eight months into the worst pandemic in a century, the preliminary results pave the way for the companies to seek an emergency-use authorisation from regulators if further research shows the shot is also safe.

The findings are based on an interim analysis conducted after 94 participants, split between those who got a placebo and those who were vaccinated, contracted Covid-19.

The trial will continue until 164 cases have occurred. If the data holds up and a key safety readout Pfizer expects in about a week also looks good, it could mean that the world has a vital new tool to control a pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

“This is about the best the news could possibly be for the world and for the US and for public health,” said William Gruber, Pfizer senior vicepresident for vaccine clinical research and development. It was better than even the best result he had hoped for, he said.

With effectiveness for the first vaccines previously expected to be in the range of 60% to 70%, “more than 90% is extraordinary”, BioNTech chief executive Ugur Sahin said.

“It shows that Covid-19 can be controlled,” Sahin said. “At the end of the day, it’s really a victory of science.”

So far, the trial’s data monitoring committee has identified no serious safety concerns.