Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that a final data analysis found their coronavirus vaccine was 95% effective in preventing Covid-19 and appeared to fend off severe disease.
The vaccine, called BNT162b2, becomes highly effective against the virus 28 days after the first dose, and its effectiveness was consistent across all ages, races and ethnicities, the drugmakers said. Additionally, the elderly, who are seen as at high risk of severe illness from Covid-19, saw vaccine effectiveness of more than 94%, the companies said.
“The final analysis underlines the results of the positive interim efficacy analysis announced on November 9,” BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said in a statement. “The data indicates that our vaccine … is able to induce a high rate of protection against COVID-19 only 29 days after the first dose. In addition, the vaccine was observed to be well-tolerated in all age groups with mostly mild to moderate side effects, which may be due in part to the relatively low dose.”
The vaccine also appeared to prevent severe disease in volunteers. Nine of the 10 severe cases of Covid were in the placebo group in the phase three trial, the companies said. They also saw no “serious” safety concerns, with most adverse events resolving shortly after vaccination.
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