Pfizer reported that its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective at preventing infection of the highly contagious variant first detected in South Africa.
The company also reported that the two-dose vaccine developed with German firm BioNTech provided continued high levels of protection against illness for six months after the shots were administered, setting the manufacturer on the path toward full regulatory approval from the federal government.
PFIZER VACCINE NEUTRALIZES KEY VARIANTS, EASING ONE OF BIGGEST FEARS ABOUT PANDEMIC
“The high vaccine efficacy observed through up to six months following a second dose and against the variant prevalent in South Africa provides further confidence in our vaccine’s overall effectiveness,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement Thursday.
Of the 800 participants enrolled at the South Africa trial site, nine cases were identified — only in subjects who had received the placebo. The 100% efficacy rate will likely mollify researchers who have feared that the B.1.351 variant out of South Africa would evade protection provided by the vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech researchers also concluded through surveillance of 12,000 subjects that the vaccine had a 91.3% efficacy rate six months after subjects received their second of two shots, with no serious safety concerns. The company will continue to monitor trial enrollees for two years.
“It is an important step to further confirm the strong efficacy and good safety data we have seen so far,” said Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech. “These data also provide the first clinical results that a vaccine can effectively protect against currently circulating variants, a critical factor to reach herd immunity and end this pandemic for the global population.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AIMS TO HAVE VACCINE ACCESSIBLE TO 90% OF ADULTS BY MID-APRIL
Pfizer expects to apply for full regulatory approval as early as this month. The vaccine was the first in the United States to be granted an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in mid-December, starting the massive federal rollout that was plagued with shipping delays early on. The pace of vaccinations has since ticked up to roughly 2.8 million shots given each day. To date, more than 150 million doses have been administered in the U.S., and at least 54.6 million people have completed a vaccination regimen.
