COVID-19 vaccine update: Pfizer may be the frontrunner, but Canada has hedged its bets

COVID-19 vaccine update: Pfizer may be the frontrunner, but Canada has hedged its bets

By Aïssatou Aïcha

Pfizer and BioNTech have surprised the world, and given it hope, with the preliminary results of the Phase 3 clinical trial of their coronavirus vaccine.

They announced on Nov. 9 that the early analysis of the data from the Phase 3 clinical trial, which is still ongoing, showed the vaccine was 90 per cent effective. The unexpectedly high figure still needs to be confirmed in larger numbers and over time. The vaccine is simple to manufacture, but its storage is more complex (the vaccine must be kept at very low temperatures). Large-scale production is expected to begin shortly.

Laboratories around the world are in a race to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. While the finish line is now in sight for Pfizer and BioNTech, the World Health Organization (WHO) lists 202 vaccine candidates, 47 of which are in human trials.

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