“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19,” Pfizer Chairman Dr. Albert Bourla has recently said this about the successful experiment of COVID-19 vaccine.
‘Where there is hope, there is life.’ We always thrive for something useful in our lives. A vaccine plays a vital role in addressing some global health crisis by decreasing the rate of infection. A vaccinated person fights against any viral infection even in serious conditions too.
As COVID-19’s vaccine is a hot topic around the globe right now, let’s discuss how this vaccine is different from other vaccines? This vaccine is different in its formation because it contains information about the infectious agent i.e. COVID-19. After moving into the body, this vaccine instructs the body cells to make viral protein that is recognized by the immune system, whereas, traditional vaccine contains dead, weak, noninfectious part of the virus.
After the successful trial of COVID-19’s vaccine, scientists and people around the globe are looking forward to this vaccine. Earlier, Pfizer and BioNtech announced that the vaccine for COVID-19 was 90% effective against the deadly virus but, after 28 days of first dose and FDA’s approval, these medicine companies announced that it was 95% effective; that is quite encouraging actually.
This analysis was evaluated in 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 participants. In this study, 43,538 participants were enrolled while safety data is still not collected that means participants will be monitored for next two years. To talk of the effectiveness of the study, the data collected shows that 10,000 participants received vaccine and 10,000 people received placebo while only eight cases of infection were reported in the vaccinated group.
If we talk about the trial locations, approximately150 clinical trial sites were finalized in six countries including 39 U.S. states.
The vaccine requires two doses and needs to be kept at extremely low temperature like in freezers or in packed dried ice. This is very challenging for low and middle income countries.
Pfizer chairman and CEO has said that they are going to achieve this important milestone in their vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it the most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.
He has also said that the news of vaccine’s successful trial is a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis.
As the things are apparently set and the vaccine is awaited around the globe, few questions still arise in the mind and they need to be answered.
How much this vaccine costs?
This vaccine will be pocket friendly. Its development and manufacturing costs are entirely self-funded by the companies with billions of dollars invested to help the humanity find the solution to this pandemic.
Very exciting news is that FDA’s approved first HOME-COVID-19 TEST is highly accurate. You may test at home according to the doctor’s prescription with the help of a testing kit made by LUCIRA that costs 50$ (Rs 8010 approximately) and give results in 30 minutes.
BioNtech’s CEO has said thanks to thousands of people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trial, academic collaborators, investigator at study site and colleagues.
In the bottom line, this is the victory of science and innovation at this crucial time when we are under the second wave of coronavirus and many of us are in the lockdown again.
Wear mask, save humanity.
