Every country has different rules for determining
when an experimental vaccine is safe and
effective enough to use. Intense political
pressure to be the first to roll out a rigorously
scientifically tested shot colored the race in the
U.S. and Britain, even as researchers pledged
to cut no corners. In contrast, China and Russia
have offered different vaccinations to their
citizens ahead of late-stage testing.
The shots made by U.S.-based Pfizer and its
German partner BioNTech were tested in
tens of thousands of people. And while that
study isn’t complete, early results suggest the
vaccine is 95% effective at preventing mild
to severe COVID-19 disease. The companies
told regulators that of the first 170 infections
detected in study volunteers, only eight were
among people who’d received the actual
vaccine and the rest had gotten a dummy shot.
“This is an extraordinarily strong protection,” Dr.
Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s CEO, recently told The
Associated Press.
The companies also reported no serious side
effects, although vaccine recipients may
experience temporary pain and flu-like reactions
immediately after injections.
Final testing must still be completed. Still to
be determined is whether the Pfizer-BioNTech
shots protect against people spreading the
coronavirus without showing symptoms.
Another question is how long protection lasts.
The vaccine also has been tested in only a
small number of children, none younger than
12, and there’s no information on its effects in
pregnant women.
Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth