Pfizer Seeks Emergency FDA Approval for Highly Effective COVID-19 Vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech officially request emergency use authorization from the FDA for their COVID-19 vaccine after clinical trials show 95% effectiveness. The company states it is ready to begin distributing the vaccine within hours of receiving federal approval.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech formally ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize their COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. This request follows the release of promising clinical trial data earlier this week that shows the vaccine is 95% effective at preventing illness. BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin calls this submission a critical step in making the vaccine available to the global population as quickly as possible.
The pharmaceutical giant is moving incredibly fast to secure this federal authorization. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla confirms that the company is prepared to start distributing the vaccine within hours after receiving the green light from regulators. The companies also plan to continue working with international regulatory agencies to ensure a rapid global rollout of the shots.
Pfizer is not the only company racing to get a vaccine to the public. Moderna, an American biotech firm, announces that its own COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective and is expected to file a similar emergency use request with the FDA soon. These simultaneous developments signal a major turning point in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic.