The Covid Vaccine That Offers 90% Protection

Pfizer and BioNTech have described today as a “great day for science and humanity”.

It has been announced that their vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six different countries and no safety concerns have been raised. An emergency approval will be applied for in order to put the vaccine to use by the end of the month. As it stands, no vaccine has gone from the drawing board to being proven effective in such a short period of time.

However, there are still major challenges ahead, but the announcement is a huge glimmer of hope for the near future.

So, when will the vaccine be available? A limited number of people may be available to receive the vaccine this year. Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that they will have safety data available by the third week of November to take the vaccine to regulators.

It will not be possible for countries to begin their vaccination process until the vaccine has been approved.

The companies have also announced that they’ll be able to supply 50 million doses by the end of this year and 1.3 billion by the end of 2021. Each person will need to receive two doses.

Unfortunately, not everyone will get the vaccine straightaway as many countries are still deciding who to prioritise. It has been reported that hospital staff and care home workers will be near the top of every list due to the amount of vulnerable people they work with. However, a final decision has not been made.

Potential Problems
In terms of potential problems, there are still many unanswered questions as this is only interim data. It is still unknown as to whether the vaccine stops people spreading the virus or stops people developing symptoms. Plus, the biggest question is how long immunity will last.