Coronavirus & stuff

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has now proved 95% effective in preventing coronavirus and has met the safety criteria needed for emergency authorisation, the firms have said.

Pfizer and BioNTech say they plan to submit the COVID-19 vaccine to the US regulator for emergency use approval "within days" before sharing with others around the world.

The UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), is poised to fast-track authorisation of the vaccine, which could mean it is rolled out to priority groups from mid-December.

Final efficacy analysis of the jab showed 95% were protected from the virus within 28 days of the first dose - up from when results of Phase 3 trials were shared last week.

It also proved 94% effective among adults over the age of 65 - who are generally more vulnerable.

"No serious safety concerns" were reported in the analysis, with only 2% of the 43,000 involved reporting a headache and 3.7% reporting fatigue, the companies said.

On 9 November, Pfizer became the first company in the world to complete Phase 3 of its coronavirus vaccine trials, which showed 90% efficacy.

The news was followed earlier this week by an announcement from US pharmaceutical firm Moderna that its own vaccine candidate had a similarly promising efficacy of 94.5%.

So far the UK government has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab - enough for 20 million people - and five million - for use on 2.5 million patients - of the Moderna one.

Pfizer chairman and chief executive Dr Albert Bourla said: "The study results mark an important step in this historic eight-month journey to bring forward a vaccine capable of helping to end this devastating pandemic.

"We continue to move at the speed of science to compile all the data collected thus far and share with regulators around the world."

Analysis: Most significant news yet provides massive tick in the COVID vaccine wish-list
By Thomas Moore, science correspondent

Of all the exciting recent news on COVID vaccines, this is perhaps the most significant of all.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine works in the people who need it the most. In the over-65s it was over 94% effective against the disease.

It's a massive tick in the wish-list for a vaccine.

The immune systems of older people don't generally work as well as those of the young.

But the latest data shows the vaccine is just about as effective in people of all ages.

The companies also say the overall effectiveness of the vaccine is now 95%, up from the 90% suggested by the interim analysis last week.

That's the same as the Moderna vaccine, which uses similar technology.

The clinical trials on just over 43,000 volunteers found no serious safety concerns. A few had headaches and fatigue, but that's not unusual for a vaccine.

One big scientific question remains. How long does immunity last? If people need regular booster doses that will stretch manufacturing capacity still further.

The answer to that will come from the ongoing monitoring of antibody and T-cell levels in people who have had the vaccine.

In the short term, the success of this vaccine will depend on the logistics.

Its activity depends on the dry ice and heavily insulated container that keeps it at minus 70C for up to 15 days. Raise the temperature by just 10 degrees and it may not work.

It's a smart and effective vaccine. Now the NHS and its suppliers need to get it where it's needed, and fast.

Hexx wrote:Toy stores now demanding to be classed as ‘essential’ retail

Hexx wrote:Toy stores now demanding to be classed as ‘essential’ retail

Rex Kramer wrote:

Hexx wrote:Toy stores now demanding to be classed as ‘essential’ retail

To be fair to them, they are being shafted by the supermarkets who can still sell toys whilst they can't open.

Dual wrote:If someone in my household is waiting for a test result, do I need to stay in the house? Can I go to the shops for food?

Dual wrote:If someone in my household is waiting for a test result, do I need to stay in the house? Can I go to the shops for food?

Hexx wrote:Toy stores now demanding to be classed as ‘essential’ retail

Dual wrote:If someone in my household is waiting for a test result, do I need to stay in the house? Can I go to the shops for food?

Karl_ wrote:Wales was right to try to regulate what could be sold in supermarkets during lockdown. The criticism of the policy was politically constructed and not reasonable.

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:

Karl_ wrote:Wales was right to try to regulate what could be sold in supermarkets during lockdown. The criticism of the policy was politically constructed and not reasonable.

I thought the shitfit was because Tesco decided tampons and sanitary towels were non-essential?

Army personnel allegedly part of the soldier encampment at Pontins Ainsdale have started leaving mixed reviews of the infamous holiday park.

Army personnel have been camping at the Pontins site on Shore Road in Ainsdale, with the one squaddie saying the resort was worse than living in war-torn Afghanistan.

Another said the holiday park was nowhere near as good as Camp Bastion in Helmand Province.