In a big development, the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials, the companies announced Monday. Protection in patients was achieved seven days after the second of two doses, and 28 days after the first, according to preliminary findings. "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 and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
"We are 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. "We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most," Mr Bourla added. Based on supply projections, the companies are expecting to supply 50 million vaccine doses globally by the end of this year. Up to 1.3 billion doses will be supplied in 2021.Since its outbreak last year, the coronavirus disease has wreaked havoc in the world and the global cases exceeded 50 million in a grim milestone on Monday. While the death toll is over 1,255,000.