Pfizer shared some very promising news today (November 9) regarding its work on developing a vaccine for COVID-19.
Per The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and The New York Times, Pfizer announced that its analysis found its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine was 90 percent effective in fighting the potentially deadly virus. These findings came from test trials of its volunteers, who had no prior COVID-19 infection.
Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive Albert Bourla said in a statement, "Today is a great day for science and humanity. We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen."
The New York Times notes, "If the results hold up, that level of protection would put it on par with highly effective childhood vaccines for diseases such as measles."
Pfizer's next steps will be attempting to receive emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following collecting two months of safety data, which is the recommended amount of data per the FDA. Pfizer reports that they observed no serious safety concerns from their vaccine trial.
The Wall Street Journal notes this news had an immediate effect as soon as markets opened in the United States reporting, "The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 5.6%, 1,589 points higher, to 29924. The open pushed the Dow past its intraday record high from February. The S&P 500 surged 3.7%, suggesting that last week’s advance, the strongest since April, still has momentum."
President Donald Trump tweeted, "STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!"
President-elect Joe Biden said in a statement, "I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope. At the same time, it is also important to understand that the end of the battle against COVID-19 is still months away. This news follows a previously announced timeline by industry officials that forecast vaccine approval by late November. Even if that is achieved, and some Americans are vaccinated later this year, it will be many more months before there is widespread vaccination in this country."
