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Summary
- Pfizer and BioNTech have reported success in their COVID-19 vaccination study, averting more than 90% of infections.
- In October, the NZ government had signed a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech to secure 1.5 million doses, provided successful completion of all clinical trials and pass regulatory approval.
- NZ could get the first doses of vaccine in NZ by the first quarter of 2021 if all remains well.
American drug giant Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have suggested that scientific trials have shown that their vaccine averts 90% of the coronavirus infections. The results were based on an interim review done post 94 participants getting coronavirus. The trial would go on until 164 cases have taken place.
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If the data supports and a crucial safety readout Pfizer anticipated in a week also looks good, the world will get a vital new tool to control the coronavirus spread. The results could pave the way for companies to apply for emergency-use approval if further research shows the vaccine is safe as well.
Pfizer vaccine likely in NZ in Q1 next year
Kiwis are likely to benefit if the vaccine gets released by the drug company. The NZ government had signed a deal with Pfizer and its partner BioNtech in October, to buy 1.5 million doses, providing relief to 750k people.
NZ government stated that a vaccine for coronavirus could be made available to Kiwis in early 2021, calling it as a "first major" step.
However, the deal is subject to completion of all clinical trials and passing NZ regulatory approval by Medsafe. The government has planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to secure an effective vaccine.
New Zealand’s Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods stated that people who stand at risk of spreading the virus and people with increased morbidity and mortality would be the first ones to get the vaccine. She also noted that a vaccine would not imply that NZ would open its borders as it was not about how safe NZ is, but about how safe the rest of the world is.
She also asserted that Pfizer vaccine was not the only vaccine NZ would be looking at, but it will be looking at different vaccines work in different ways.
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Medsafe has been working to refine the procedures in order to test any promising vaccines as soon as possible. The vaccine will be evaluated under the same criteria used by all other medicines that come into the country.
Vaccine leaders
Pfizer and BioNTech have stated that they would produce 1.3 billion doses that could vaccinate about 650 million people by the end of 2021, while about 50 million doses are anticipated to be available this year.
Image Source: @Kalkine Group
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Professor David Murdoch, Clinical microbiologist and infectious disease physician stated that the vaccine makes use of new technology that includes injecting Sars-CoV-2 virus' genetic code or RNA to train the immune system. However, it is not known how long immunity can last after vaccination.
