Nov 10, 2020

Coronavirus vaccine 90% successful as clinical trials continue

In the race to develop a viable vaccine for coronavirus, American company Pfizer, has announced their vaccine is currently sitting at a 90% success rate. 

As one of four potential vaccines, the Australian Government has agreed to purchase it if it is successful. This news has come as a welcome relief and caused a surge of optimism as the battle against the spread of the virus continues. 

So far, in early testing, results from the vaccine have shown promising results in 94 infections being treated in the trial. Pfizer, along with their German partner in developing the vaccine, BioNTech, are currently on track to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use of the vaccine.

Australia’s Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, said the Government would monitor any further results as Pfizer’s vaccine trials continue. 

“The data on our vaccine candidates continues to be positive. We will examine the evidence carefully but the latest results are heartening news,” he said.

However, despite this good news, authorities have reinforced the fact that it is unlikely we will see a vaccine fully approved before the end of the year. 

As testing continues on the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, it is clear that while these early results are encouraging, there is still a way to go before the vaccine is fully approved for use. As the trials continue, Pfizer has warned that this success rate may change and drop as more COVID-19 infections are added to the calculations. 

While the study and the results are in their earliest stages, this positive result has given hope for the future of vaccines against the virus. 

Dr Anthony Fauci, the United State’s top most expert on infectious diseases called the result “just extraordinary”.

“Not very many people expected it would be as high as that,” he said.

“It’s going to have a major impact on everything we do with respect to COVID.”

If the Pfizer vaccine continues to travel through trials successfully, they estimate they could have 50 million doses, enough to vaccinate 25 million people, available globally by the end of 2020. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Will there be a mass exodus of aged care workers? Union urges Friday deadline be extended

With September 17 looming, the Health Services Union is calling on the government to extend the deadline for mandatory vaccines for aged care workers, due to fears there could be an exodus of staff in the already overstretched aged care workforce. Read More

Healthcare workers on COVID-19 frontline given mental health support

The minister for health has acknowledged the “real and absolute” stresses healthcare workers have faced during COVID-19 with funding for a mental health support unit. “Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, not just in Australia but all around the world, our nurses, our doctors, our healthcare workers have been our frontline heroes,” said Greg Hunt, the minister... Read More

Colbeck stumbles on aged care COVID-19 death data – again

The Minister for Aged Care has used out-of-date data to make international comparisons with Australia’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis in aged care homes. In a parliamentary hearing in October last year after questioning from opposition home affairs spokeswoman, Kristina Keneally, Minister Richard Colbeck said New Zealand had experienced a similar rate of deaths in... Read More
Advertisement