{"id":90327,"date":"2020-11-10T07:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T12:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=90327"},"modified":"2020-11-10T07:09:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T12:09:00","slug":"auto-draft-309","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2020\/11\/10\/auto-draft-309\/","title":{"rendered":"Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine 90% Effective in Trials"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"Pharmaceutical company Pfizer says late-stage testing on its potential COVID-19 vaccine indicates it is more than 90%\u00a0effective, exceeding expectations and bringing a rare piece of positive news to the fight against the coronavirus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pfizer\u2019s\u00a0chairman and\u00a0chief\u00a0executive Albert\u00a0Bourla, along with\u00a0Pfizer\u2019s\u00a0partner,\u00a0BioNTech, made the announcement Monday regarding the Phase 3, late-stage study of their potential vaccine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The statement said the study showed the vaccine to be more than 90%\u00a0effective in preventing the virus in participants without evidence of prior infection in the first interim efficacy analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Dr.<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, listens during a Senate hearing, Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States,\u00a0said during a Monday press briefing that the results are \u201cjust extraordinary.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot very many people expected it would be as high as that,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fauci\u00a0had previously\u00a0said he was looking for a vaccine with 70%\u00a0to 75%\u00a0efficacy and that even 50%\u00a0was acceptable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

World Health Organization senior adviser Bruce Aylward said the results from Pfizer’s trial are \u201cvery positive\u201d and should \u201chold great promise hopefully for the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pfizer analysis was conducted by an independent data monitoring board, which examined 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the United States and five other countries. Some patients in the trial received a vaccine,\u00a0while others were given a placebo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his statement,\u00a0Bourla\u00a0said the results demonstrate the potential vaccine can help prevent COVID-19 in\u00a0most\u00a0of the\u00a0people who receive it. He cautioned, however, that while this is a critical first step, these efficacy results alone will not allow the companies to apply for U.S. Food and Drug Administration\u00a0(FDA)\u00a0Emergency Use Authorization.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said more data on safety is also needed, adding, \u201cWe are continuing to accumulate that safety data as part of our ongoing clinical study.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe estimate that a median of two months of safety data following the second and final dose of the vaccine candidate\u00a0\u2014\u00a0required by FDA\u2019s guidance for potential Emergency Use Authorization\u00a0\u2014\u00a0will be available by the third week of November,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Rep.<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar testifies to the House Select Subcommittee on the coronavirus disease crisis, as Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) speaks remotely, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 2, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday it would take several weeks for U.S. regulators to receive and independently review Pfizer\u2019s data before the government could potentially approve it.<\/p>\n

From his Twitter account, U.S. President Donald Trump noted the reported 90 percent efficiency, calling it \u201cSUCH GREAT NEWS,\u201d and that the stock market was \u201cUP BIG\u201d as a result.<\/p>\n