U.S. drug maker Pfizer announced on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, a promising development as the world nears 50 million cases of the disease. At least 1.2 million people have died from COVID-19 globally.
With that level of efficacy, Pfizer plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization of the two-dose vaccine later this month, after it collects the recommended two months of safety data.
Pfizer plans to manufacture enough doses to immunize 15 to 20 million people by the end of the year, according to company executives.
Pfizer said an early analysis of its coronavirus vaccine trial suggested that the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective among trial volunteers who were not been infected with the coronavirus.
The company added that there was no serious safety concerns observed during the trial.
Pfizer released very few details from its clinical trial based on the first formal review of the data by an outside panel of experts.
The company developed the vaccine with the German drugmaker BioNtech.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.