Vaccine Better Than Expected
Pfizer is now saying that its new coronavirus vaccine has proven to be more than 90 percent effective and it could be used before the end of the year. The giant pharma reported that out of 44,000 participants in its trials, 94 contracted COVID-19. Four weeks after the two-dose regimen and seven days after the second injection, protection from systematic COVID was greater than 90 percent.
Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, was ecstatic. “We were jumping out of the chairs, screaming basically, this is unbelievable, oh my God!,” he says. “We may put an end to this terrible pandemic.”
Pfizer’s vaccine, one of four in late-stage trials in the United States, even caught the attention of the country’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said the results could convince hesitant Americans to roll up their sleeves. Here’s more from CBS News.
In a related development, President Trump is accusing Pfizer of purposely waiting until after the election to release news of the vaccine. The president tweeted the accusation earlier in the week, saying Pfizer didn’t have the courage to release the news prior to the election. He added, “Likewise the U.S. FDA should have announced it earlier, not for political purposes but for saving lives.” Here’s more from News 4 Jax in Jacksonville, Fla.
