Pfizer-BioNTech announced last week that the efficacy portion of their COVID-19 vaccine trial had been completed.
The vaccine prevented 95% of cases of the disease.
Professor Stebbings in his daily report evaluated results and suggested that they looked a bit better than the data of 94 cases.
The companies also announced that they will be submitting a request for an EUA from the FDA within days.
Of the 170 cases of COVID-19 that were recorded from the trial, 162 were in the placebo arm, whilst the rest, eight, were amongst those who got two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Ten of the infections overall were severe – nine of which were in the placebo group – an important finding that suggests the vaccine not only prevents mild cases of the disease but also the more severe form that can lead to hospitalisation and death.
Moderna reported all 11 severe cases were in the placebo arm.
The efficacy was noted to be consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity, with greater than 94% seen efficacy in the high risk elderly cohort greater than 65 years old.
In the final analysis, BNT 162 B2 remained well tolerated, with most first reactions resolving shortly after vaccination.
The only grade three solicited adverse event with a greater than or equal to 2% frequency was fatigue 3.8% and headache 2% following dose two.
Consistent with earlier results, older adults tended to report fewer and milder solicited adverse effects.
In particular, in the Moderna trial, participants were not allowed to try paracetamol or ibuprofen.
The London General Practice is excited about the possibility of a vaccine being approved prior to the commencement of 2021.
It believes strongly that the vaccine should be available to all susceptible people throughout the world.
Dr Paul Ettlinger
Founder
London General Practice