By Hank Shield

At 6:45 a.m. on November 9, Pfizer released its phase three data for an effective vaccine for COVID-19. Phase three represents data they found by testing a vaccine on 94 confirmed COVID-19 case-patients. Within the 94 cases, more than 90% found the vaccine effective, which provides a little bit of hope for the rest of the year and beyond. 

Photo credit: Christian Emmer.

Following the release of the COVID-19 vaccine data, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer Dr. Albert Bourla said that “The vaccine was proven to be very efficacious, overwhelmingly. And that was big news for me as well.” Other vaccine experts agree, like Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrics professor A the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who said, “The data certainly look encouraging.” 

Before they are able to release and mass distribute this vaccine to the public, vaccine manufacturers must first meet FDA safety standards. This involves submitting data and research to the FDA for evaluation of the effectiveness and the overall safety of the vaccine. This can take anywhere from two to four weeks, and the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine on Dec. 11. Pfizer is hoping that they will at least be able to distribute their vaccine to those at a high risk of getting COVID-19, so they have already started to mass-produce it. 

Many in the public may be thinking: Why does the FDA have to take close to a month to ensure the safety of a vaccine that has already been proven to be over 90% effective? They may not necessarily be looking at the effectiveness of the vaccine itself, but the process it takes to keep the vaccine safe including storage and transportation. An example of this would be the disaster of 1955, involving Cutter Laboratories. Cutter Laboratories produced 200,000 defective polio vaccines and distributed them to five Mid-Western states. The inactivating of the live virus proved to be flawed, which resulted in 40,000 cases of polio, 200 cases of varying paralysis, and 10 deaths. 

The FDA has to uphold their safety guidelines so that they are not to rush a hopeful vaccine into a desperate community that could result in the spread of COVID-19, and not the prevention of it. 

Other companies have burst onto the scene with vaccines of their own, the most promising product being Moderna’s vaccine. Moderna has recently one-upped Pfizer in several ways. First of all, their vaccine has been found to be 95% effective compared to Pfizer’s 90%. Also, their vaccine only has to be stored in negative 20 degrees Celcius temperatures and can last up to six months, and it can be kept in a standard fridge for up to a month. Pfizer’s vaccine has to be kept in negative 75 degrees Celsius and is only effective for five days. 

Pfizer’s vaccine has already started being distributed, and the first injection in the US was given on Dec. 14 to a health-care worker in New York City. Moderna’s is set to be released around Christmas or early 2021. This leads to the question: When will COVID-19 end?

Some scientists predict it will end next spring, and others by next winter. Some scientists believe that COVID-19 could last much longer. With vaccines in their final processes of testing, manufacturing, and mass-production, we are likely to see that front-line workers (medical professionals who work with COVID-19 patients), and immediate risk persons will receive the vaccine first.