The coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer, which is due to arrive in the UK before the end of the year, has 95% efficacy and has passed its safety checks, according to further data from the firm.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech published interim results last week showing that the jab could prevent more than 90% of people from developing Covid-19.
That data was based on the first 94 volunteers in the trial to develop Covid-19. The further figures released on Wednesday are based on the first 170 cases. Of these, 162 were observed in the placebo group versus eight in the vaccine group.
A good immune response was “consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics” and the jab had more than 94% efficacy in people aged over 65, Pfizer said. There were 10 severe cases of Covid-19 overall – nine in the placebo group and one in the vaccine group.
The vaccine has been tested in a trial involving 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised. The UK has secured 40m doses of the vaccine, with 10m due in the country by the end of the year if the jab is approved. People will need two doses.
Another jab, from the US firm Moderna, was shown this week in early data to have almost 95% efficacy. The UK has ordered 5m doses of that jab and is also awaiting the results of an Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccine study, which is due to report soon.
Changes to medicine regulations announced in October will allow the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorise a temporary supply of vaccines if one becomes available before 2021.
This means that if a vaccine is found to meet the safety, quality and efficacy standards by the MHRA then vaccinations can begin without needing to wait for European Medicines Agency approval. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said the NHS will be ready by 1 December to roll out any jab.
The Pfizer vaccine has been shown to produce both an antibody and T-cell response in the body to fight coronavirus.
Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be able to produce up to 50m vaccine doses globally in 2020 and up to 1.3bn in 2021. Pfizer’s chief executive, Albert Bourla, said on Tuesday that the firm was preparing to file for emergency use authorisation within days from the US Food and Drug Administration.
On Wednesday, Bourla said: “The study results mark an important step in this historic eight-month journey to bring forward a vaccine capable of helping to end this devastating pandemic.
“We continue to move at the speed of science to compile all the data collected thus far and share with regulators around the world. With hundreds of thousands of people around the globe infected every day, we urgently need to get a safe and effective vaccine to the world.”
Ugur Sahin, a co-founder of BioNTech, said the data showed that a high rate of protection against Covid-19 could be achieved “very fast” after the first dose.
