WHO chief Tedros welcomes 'encouraging' news on COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, BioNTech

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed Pfizer and BioNTech's announcement on Monday that the vaccine they have jointly developed is 90% effective in preventing the COVID-19 infection in ongoing Phase 3 trials.

Taking to Twitter, Dr Tedros welcomed the ‘encouraging’ news and commended all scientists and partners engaged in developing the vaccine to beat the Coronavirus.

A coronavirus vaccine may be rolled out by March 2021 to the most vulnerable, which could fundamentally change the course of the pandemic, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Monday. Addressing WHO's annual ministerial assembly, Bruce Aylward said that the interim results from Pfizer Inc's phase-three vaccine trials were "very positive".

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Fauci hails ‘extraordinary’ Pfizer results

Anthony Fauci, the top infectious-disease expert of US, said the vaccine, being developed by Pfizer will have a “major impact" on the battle against the deadly virus. Speaking to reporters, Fauci said, the efficacy of the Pfizer drug candidate being over 90% “is just extraordinary.” He asserted that Moderna may have similar results to the Pfizer vaccine because it is also based on mRNA technology.

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Pfizer early trials show vaccine 90% effective

Earlier in the day, American pharmaceutical Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced their Covid-19 vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, has prevented more than 90% of infections in a study involving thousands of volunteers in Phase 3 trials. This has been the most encouraging scientific advancement so far in the battle against Coronavirus.

Pfizer and BioNTech SE became the first drugmakers to show promising results from a large-scale clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine. The shots developed by the two companies are among the 10 possible vaccine candidates in late-stage testing around the world. As per reports, Pfizer has indicated that it will file an emergency use application with US regulators later this month.

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