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Coronavirus: vaccine hopes rise on promising Pfizer-BioNTech trial results
- American firm says its candidate proved 90 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic infection
- Chinese company Sinovac has setback with report of adverse event in its Brazil trial
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Promising data on a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by American firm Pfizer and German partner BioNTech has raised hopes of an answer to the pandemic, but scientists caution that it is too early for confidence.
Pfizer announced on Monday that clinical trials indicated that its vaccine candidate was more than 90 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic infection of Covid-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus – compared with volunteers given a placebo.
The announcement came as China, which had been leading the vaccine race, suffered its first setback, with authorities in Brazil suspending a trial of a vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac after an “adverse event” involving the death of a volunteer.
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The details remain unclear, but the company and some media reports in Brazil said the death was thought to be unrelated to the vaccine.
Nevertheless, normal procedure is for an independent committee to look into the matter before making a conclusion.
02:30
Pfizer coronavirus vaccine more than 90 per cent effective, US drug maker says
Pfizer coronavirus vaccine more than 90 per cent effective, US drug maker says
Scientists said the Pfizer announcement was significant because it showed that its strategy – which targets the coronavirus’s spike protein – had a good chance of working.
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