Pfizer says latest data shows its coronavirus vaccine is safe and 95% effective
18 November 2020
Pfizer said on Wednesday that its coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective and has no serious side effects.
The state of play: The company said they have enough safety data now and plan to request an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration "within days."
- If the F.D.A. authorizes the vaccine, Pfizer has said that it could have up to 50 million doses available by the end of the year, per the New York Times.
- The announcement comes just days after Moderna announced its vaccine was 94.5% effective at preventing infections.
Why it matters: With coronavirus cases surging in the U.S., Americans remain hopeful that there could be two vaccines in distribution before the New Year.
Details: The pharmaceutical company said the vaccine prevented mild and severe forms of the virus, and was 94% effective in older adults.
- By the numbers: Pfizer counted 170 coronavirus cases among its trial volunteers, with 162 infections in people who got placebo, and eight cases in participants who received the actual vaccine.
- The data from the company thus far has not been peer-reviewed but they said they will submit to a peer-reviewed study in a scientific journal once the trial is complete.
🎧 Go deeper: Axios Re:Cap interviews Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.