Pfizer Vaccine Is Effective In Preventing COVID-19 Up To 91 Percent, It Can Fight South African Mutation

Vaccine illustration. (Steven Cornfield / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer BioNTech announced on Thursday that their vaccine is 91.3 percent effective in preventing COVID-19, citing from the trial data.

The vaccine also showed early signs of preventing the South African mutation of COVID-19 or B.1.351, based on the results of study volunteers in South Africa.

Although lower than the astonishing 95 percent efficacy results based on clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine on 44.000 people last November. However, these results show the COVID-19 vaccine to be a powerful tool against the developing virus.

Viruses now have forms that are more contagious and that have been shown to circumvent antibody protection, in laboratory studies and real-world clinical trials.

"These data reinforce our view that some vaccines are very potent", said Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at British Imperial College London, who was not involved in the Pfizer trial.

Meanwhile, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said the updated results included data on more than 12.000 people who were fully inoculated for at least six months, positioning vaccine makers for full US regulatory approval.

Please note, the current vaccine is approved in an emergency by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"Trial data provide the first clinical results, a vaccine can effectively protect against the currently circulating variant of COVID-19, an important factor for achieving herd immunity and ending this pandemic for the global population", said Ugur Sahin, chief executive at BioNTech in a statement.

Regarding the South African mutation, the data released on Thursday offers a first look at how the vaccine might work in people against the South African mutation.

"This vaccine shows 100 percent efficacy in preventing disease among trial participants in South Africa, although the number of participants (trials) is relatively small, namely 800 people", said Pfizer, cited from The Guardian.