Pfizer and BioNTech laboratories claim to have discovered a vaccine that is 90% effective.

Currently in phase 3 of the clinical trial, this formula could quickly be produced on a large scale and distributed, if, however, no safety problem was detected.

Nine other vaccine candidates are still being tested.

Have we finally found a vaccine against Covid-19?

The American laboratory Pfizer and the German BioNTech finally raised hope Monday, by announcing that they had discovered a formula effective at 90%.

NT162b2, this is the name of this vaccine candidate, will have to be delivered across the world quickly in order to stop the coronavirus epidemic.

It could thus be distributed in Europe within a few months, if however it does not pose a problem during the continuation of the clinical trial.

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This vaccine is in fact in full phase 3 of its clinical trial, that is to say a massive test on humans: the vaccine will thus be inoculated to 43,000 volunteers.

This is the last step before its homologation.

The trial is therefore not yet complete, but the vaccine appears to be 90% effective with two doses.

So far, no tolerance problem has caused the trial to stop, a problem that had stopped the course of several vaccine candidates.

A scientific achievement

The results so far obtained by NT162b2 are quite a feat.

Typically, it takes ten years to formulate a vaccine.

For the flu vaccine, research had even taken 28 years.

If the results of phase 3 are successful, Pfizer will not waste time.

The laboratory hopes to file an emergency authorization request "during the third week of November" with the US drug agency.

But several questions remain unanswered until then: it is difficult to say whether the vaccine will cause side effects, but also to know how long it remains effective (i.e. long-term immunity). 

Fast production

Then there will remain a major challenge: producing this vaccine, storing it and distributing it around the world.

Indeed, it is difficult to say whether this vaccine will be stable since it is based on a new genetic technology, that of messenger RNA.

It should also be stored in freezers at -80 degrees.

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If the production and distribution channels manage to overcome these obstacles, the vaccine should be available in Europe in the spring.

One or more of the nine other vaccine candidates currently in phase 3 could also be proposed if the clinical trials were successful.