Table of contents:
- Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine key facts
- The evidence for the effectiveness of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is not final
- 1,024,298
- 831,330
- 28,855
- How do vaccines work?
- How long does immune effectiveness last?
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Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is reportedly proven to be safe and effective at preventing transmission by more than 90 percent. The US-based pharmaceutical company will be the first to announce the preliminary results of its Phase 3 clinical trial.
These results were welcomed by scientists around the world, but they cautioned against remaining vigilant against other possibilities.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine key facts
Pfizer is developing the COVID-19 vaccine together with the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech. The company said that its analysis of interim results from the vaccine's phase 3 clinical trial was more than 90 percent effective at preventing transmission to test participants.
“Today is an extraordinary day for science and humanity. "The first series of results from the Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial provide preliminary evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent the transmission of COVID-19," said Dr. Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer in a press release Monday (9/11).
This report on the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine bodes well for other COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Even so, scientists warn that questions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines remain unanswered. This interim report cannot be used as a guarantee that a vaccine made by Pfizer can end the pandemic.
The evidence for the effectiveness of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is not final
The Phase 3 trial of Pfizer's vaccine involved about 44,000 people in six countries, half of whom had already been vaccinated, while the other half were given a placebo - a treatment designed without any effect.
The announcement of the effectiveness of this vaccine is based on an interim analysis conducted on 94 test participants who confirmed positive for COVID-19 after receiving two injections of the Pfizer vaccine. Of the 94 participants, it was checked how many of them received the original vaccine and how many received placebo.
Pfizer did not provide these details in their report, but if it was declared 90 percent effective, it could be estimated that no more than 8 of the 94 positive participants had received the original vaccine injection.
To confirm the level of efficacy, Pfizer said it would continue trials until 164 test participants had contracted COVID-19. This is a number approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a measure of how well a vaccine is working.
In addition, data on the effectiveness of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has not gone through peer review (peer review) also has not been published in any medical journals.
Pfizer said it would publish the results of studies in scientific journals after getting the results of all clinical trials.
COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData
1,024,298
Confirmed831,330
Recovered28,855
DeathDistribution MapHow do vaccines work?
Vaccination is usually carried out by injecting parts of cells or the genetic code of the virus that have been weakened or died and then modified in such a way.
In this way, the vaccine allows the body to recognize the virus without causing it to become infected. The body identifies the vaccine as a foreign microorganism that needs to be fought so that it triggers an immune response and produces antibodies. So that when one day comes in direct contact with the virus, the body will be better prepared to fend off it.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine requires two times the injection dose for each person.
How long does immune effectiveness last?
Scientists have warned against over-celebrating this preliminary data before an analysis of its long-term safety and efficacy is officially published.
Based on data from stage 1 and stage 2 clinical trials, the participants managed to elicit a fairly strong antibody response. However, it is not currently known how long the immune protection provided by the COVID-19 vaccine will last.
"For me, the main question is what about six months later, or even three months later," said Rafi Ahmed, an immunologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. According to him, there is no data that proves that the protection provided by the vaccine can last three months or longer.
In some studies, the antibodies of COVID-19 patients recovered only lasted 3 months. There is some evidence that recovered COVID-19 patients can return to being infected with COVID-19 from variations (strains) different viruses.
Ahmed said researchers still have the opportunity to seek answers to unanswered questions. However, the need for a vaccine to immediately tackle the COVID-19 pandemic is being rushed.
Pfizer and BioNTech say they plan to apply for an emergency use permit with the FDA for vaccinations by the end of November. Meanwhile, analysis of data collection on the safety and effectiveness of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is still ongoing and will take approximately 2 months.
However, to save time the company started producing vaccines. They hope to produce up to 50 million doses to protect some 25 million residents this year. Pfizer said it would produce up to 1.3 billion doses of vaccine by 2021.
The next problem is the distribution of vaccines which is still constrained by distance and time. To maintain this condition, this vaccine needs to be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees Celsius or even lower.
The need to store vaccines in very cold temperatures is to prevent the inoculation or growth of bacteria, especially in regions of Asia and Africa which have warmer climates.
In addition to concerns about a warmer climate, WHO also underlined the problem of long distances and the infrastructure needed is still lacking.
