Coronavirus Vaccine Latest News: A day after announcing that its vaccine is 95 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 virus, Pfizer on Friday said it is moving ahead with its request of asking the US regulators to allow emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine.
Unless some nasty surprises turn up, Pfizer’s action on Friday could be the first step towards vaccinating the most vulnerable Americans by December-end.
Notably, Pfizer and another US company, Moderna, have broken all vaccine development speed records in their race for a cure over the last nine months.
US regulators are standing by for the approval process while coronavirus cases are surging to record levels across all the 50 states. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee in the US Food and Drug Administration is a key player in how this process rolls along.
Pfizer’s submission also includes safety data on approximately 100 children aged 12-15 years.
As per updates, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to produce a total of 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021. US regulators hope to have 20 million vaccine doses each from Moderna and Pfizer available for distribution in late December.
The Pfizer said the protection plus a good safety record means the vaccine should qualify for emergency use authorization, something the Food and Drug Administration can grant before the final testing is fully complete.
In addition to Friday’s FDA submission, they have already started rolling applications in Europe and the UK and intend to submit similar information soon.
With the coronavirus surging around the US and the world, the pressure is on for regulators to make a speedy decision.
How much vaccine is available and when is a moving target, but initial supplies will be scarce and rationed.