The Pfizer-BioNTech trial will continue to collect data on the safety and effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine for a further two years.Ī preliminary study suggests the majority of people who have recovered from covid-19 may still have coronavirus-specific immune cells in their bodies more than six months after infection. We still don’t know if either vaccine can stop infected people from passing on the virus or how long any immunity might last. The vaccine is based on similar mRNA technology to that used in the vaccine candidate being developed by US biotechnology company Moderna, which was found to be almost 95 per cent effective based on a preliminary analysis. The results are encouraging because older individuals are at an increased risk of becoming severely ill and dying from covid-19, in part because the immune system weakens with age. They said the vaccine worked similarly well “across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics”. Out of 170 covid-19 cases among trial participants, only eight were in the vaccinated group, the companies said in a statement. About 40,000 people participated in the trial, with half receiving two doses of the vaccine and the other half a placebo. Pfizer and BioNTech said they will submit a request for emergency use authorisation to the US Food and Drug Administration within days, which will allow the vaccine to be used with people outside the trial. The new data, from the first set of complete results from the phase III trial, also showed that the vaccine produced no serious side effects. Pfizer vaccine is 95 per cent effective overall and protects 94 per cent of people over 65įurther data about the coronavirus vaccine being developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech shows that it is 95 per cent effective for all age groups, and protects 94 per cent of adults over 65. A BioNTech laboratory in Mainz, Germany 18 November

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