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Pfizer Begins Distribution of Covid-19 Vaccine

There is light at the end of the tunnel for dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Pfizer has begun distributing its vaccine to combat the virus around the country mafter receiving emergency authorization approval from the FDA on Friday.

Pfizer developed the vaccine in collaboration with BioNTech in Germany.

Under Operation Warp Speed, the Department of Defense (DoD) in partnership with agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will manage allocation and distribution of the vaccine in the U.S. This will be prioritized according to the populations identified by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidelines.

“Pfizer’s purpose is breakthroughs that change patients’ lives, and in our 171-year history there has never been a more urgent need for a breakthrough than today with hundreds of thousands of people continuing to suffer from COVID-19,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “As a U.S. company, today’s news brings great pride and tremendous joy that Pfizer has risen to the challenge to develop a vaccine that has the potential to help bring an end to this devastating pandemic. We have worked tirelessly to make the impossible possible, steadfast in our belief that science will win.”

“We founded BioNTech to develop new technologies and medicines that utilize the full potential of the immune system to fight serious diseases,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. “Today we are another step closer to our vision. We believe that today’s Emergency Use Authorization, and the subsequent distribution of our vaccine that has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 95% and a favorable safety profile, will help to save lives across the United States and could accelerate a return to normality.”

The FDA based its decision on the totality of scientific evidence shared by the companies, including data from a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study announced last month and published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Phase 3 data demonstrated a vaccine efficacy rate of 95% in participants without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (first primary objective) and also in participants with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (second primary objective), in each case measured from 7 days after the second dose. The Data Monitoring Committee for the study has not reported any serious safety concerns related to the vaccine. Efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics. All trial participants will continue to be monitored to assess long-term protection and safety for an additional two years after their second dose.

Pfizer and BioNTech appreciate the continued participation of the approximately 44,000 trial volunteers and remain committed to the companies’ pledge to always make their safety and well-being the companies’ top priority. The participants in our COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial are courageous volunteers who have made a personal and important choice to help make a difference during this pandemic. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to provide an option for trial participants who received the placebo to receive the vaccine at scheduled timepoints in the study. This vaccine transition option will be voluntary and will be implemented in alignment with the regulatory authorities where the trial is conducted.

In July 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced an agreement with the HHS and the DoD to meet the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed program goal to deliver doses of a vaccine for COVID-19. With the vaccine being authorized for emergency use in the U.S., the companies will begin delivering the first doses in the U.S. immediately, with delivery fulfillment expected to be completed in 2021.

Pfizer and BioNTech continue to work in collaboration with governments and Ministries of Health around the world that will distribute the vaccine, subject to country authorization or approval and terms of supply agreements, to help ensure it can reach those most in need as quickly as possible. The companies are leveraging Pfizer’s leading vaccine manufacturing and distribution capabilities to quickly scale, manufacture and distribute large quantities of the vaccine at high quality, complementing BioNTech’s mRNA manufacturing expertise gained over almost a decade. Pfizer has a 171-year track record of researching, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative medicines and vaccines to patients in need. Pfizer and BioNTech are confident in their ability to deliver the vaccine to people in the U.S. Based on current projections, Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s combined manufacturing network has the potential to supply globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021 (subject to manufacturing capacity and regulatory approval or authorization).

Pfizer is using three of its U.S. manufacturing sites to produce the COVID-19 vaccine – Saint Louis, MO, Andover, MA, and Kalamazoo, MI. Pfizer’s Pleasant Prairie, WI and Puurs, Belgium sites are also being used.