[ad_1]
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, applauded the news of Pfizer’s progress on a COVID-19 vaccine and said the United States could be on track to develop at least two vaccines effective, according to The Washington Post.
Pfizer announced on Monday that the first results of its advanced clinical trial showed that its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective in protecting participants compared to a placebo saline injection.
Our country is in a historic fight against the Coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news.
“The results are really, really good, I mean extraordinary,” Fauci said, according to the Washington Post. The country’s top infectious disease expert said the results could indicate Moderna’s vaccine candidate may also have positive results since both vaccines use similar technology, which he said “gives you hope that we could even have two vaccines ”.
Fauci said he spoke with Albert Bourla, chief executive of Pfizer, about the results, but had not yet reviewed the data.
Fauci has previously declared that he would like to see a 70-75% effectiveness rate in a COVID-19 vaccine, which means he would protect approximately three quarters people vaccinated against the infection. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a minimum efficacy of 50% for a vaccine to receive emergency use approval.
Pfizer said it expects to have the safety data required for emergency use clearance from the FDA by the third week of November. Bourla said the company was in a “good position” to have up to 50 million doses this year worldwide and 1.3 billion in 2021. He said the vaccine would be available free to all US citizens.
Public health experts have estimated that a vaccine could be made available to high-risk groups such as healthcare workers and the elderly by the end of the year, but widespread distribution would not occur. probably not for several months in 2021.
The news comes as the United States is currently experiencing a record-breaking COVID-19 outbreak, averaging over 106,000 new cases per day and nearly 1,000 deaths, according to The COVID monitoring project.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS NOW
NASAL SPRAY PREVENTS COVID-19 INFECTION IN TEST ANIMALS, NEW STUDY FOUND
WHO SAYS IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE IF A MUTATED VIRUS IN MINK FARMS POSES AN INCREASED RISK TO HUMANS
CDC KNEW FIRST CORONAVIRUS TEST FAILED BUT RELEASED IT ANYWHERE: REPORT
SCIENTISTS UNCOVER CAUSE OF MAJOR COVID-19 SYMPTOM
DENMARK DISCOVERS COVID STRAIN THAT COULD KEEP VACCINE EFFORT
[ad_2]
Source link