TAMPA, Fla. — Long weeks turned in to long months as we watch our leaders and loved ones make hard decisions about the coronavirus.
Now as we approach the holidays, the second wave scientists warned us about is becoming very real.
Cases are climbing as people start letting their guards down with COVID-19 fatigue setting in and much of the country rushing indoors for relief from dropping temperatures.
But on Monday, Americans woke up to good news on the coronavirus front.
A safe and effective vaccine by the end of the year is looking more and more real.
Pfizer, one of the three pharmaceutical companies leading the major vaccine trials announced that early data shows their vaccine is more than 90 percent effective.
Dr. Jill Roberts, an epidemiologist at the USF College of Public Health called the early data "just phenomenal."
"They reached a threshold where they got 94 people that actually got COVID. Here’s what was exciting about that - almost every single person that got COVID did not receive the vaccine. More importantly, the people that got the vaccine did not get COVID!"
Roberts explained that of the more than 43,000 vaccine participants, about 94 people got the coronavirus. Almost every one of those 94 people has received the placebo injection.
Roberts says 90 percent efficacy is huge because early on scientists were warning people that we might only see 60-70 percent effectiveness which would have been a start but because COVID-19 spreads so easily, the medical world really wanted something bigger.
With this kind of encouraging data, the FDA could apply for an 'emergency use authorization' later this month explained Roberts adding, "We could actually start seeing people getting vaccinated within a month. That is amazing!"
When do we get the vaccine?
Operation Warp Speed allowed for companies to start producing vaccines before having efficacy data, a risk that could pay off big time.
"It’s going to pay off huge in that Pfizer can get 50 million doses out by the end of the year," said Roberts.
What happens next?
The data never stops. Roberts says Pfizer will continue to track their participants with a keen eye on two things:
- Can this vaccine prevent someone who catches the coronavirus from developing severe disease?
- How long does the protection last?
If it turns out that we need a COVID-19 vaccine every year, Roberts believes Pfizer and other companies will continue to create better vaccines as time goes on.
For now, Roberts says this is extremely positive news and a reminder to everyone that a vaccine is coming and not to quit on the mitigation efforts that are working to slow the spread right now and save lives.
She said, "This is the home stretch! The vaccine is coming! Hold out! Keep your mask out!"
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