Russian Sputnik V, Pfizer Inc and BioNtech COVID-19 Vaccines are 90% effective

Pfizer Inc and BioNtech expected to supply 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020, and 1.3 billion in 2021

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 is more than 90 per cent effective, a representative of the health ministry said on Monday. Before this announcement, Pfzerand BioNtech also announced to have the 90% effective COVID-19 vaccine. A representative of the Russian health ministry said on Monday, citing data collated from vaccinations of the public rather than from an ongoing trial.

The comments followed a statement earlier on Monday by vaccine developers Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, who said their experimental Covid-19 vaccine was more than 90%  effective.

"We are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Sputnik V vaccine among citizens who have received it as part of the mass vaccination programme," Oksana Drapkina, director of a research institute under the health ministry, said in a state...

"Based on our observations, it is also more than 90 per cent. The appearance of another effective vaccine - this is good news for everyone," Drapkina said. 

A vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials, the companies announced on Monday.The news came as soaring coronavirus cases across the world have forced millions of people back into lockdown, causing further damage to ravaged economies.

Outgoing United States President Donald Trump, heavily criticised for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, described the breakthrough as “great news”. Top US pandemic expert Anthony Fauci said the result was “extraordinary”.

The companies said they expect to supply up to 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020, and up to 1.3 billion in 2021.A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain has procured 40m doses, with 10m set to be available by year's end.

Across much of the globe, Covid-19 infections rates are hitting record highs, with hospital intensive care units filling up and death tolls mounting.

US biotech firm Moderna, several state-run Chinese labs, and a European project led by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca are also thought to be closing in on potentially viable vaccines.

Two Russian Covid-19 vaccines have been registered for use even before clinical trials were completed, but have not been widely accepted outside of Russia.

Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine BNT162b2 began the final stage — Phase 3 — of its clinical trial in late July and has enrolled 43,538 participants to date, 90pc of whom had received a second dose as of November 8.

                                                                  Rukhsana Manzoor Deputy Editor