LONDON: The scientist behind the first Covid-19 vaccine to clear initial clinical trials has expressed confidence his product can put an end to the pandemic.
The German company BioNTech and the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced earlier that their jointly developed vaccine candidate had exceeded expectations in the crucial phase 3 trials, proving 90 percent effective in stopping people from falling ill.
However, the lack of full data sets from the ongoing trials has left unsettled the question of whether the vaccine is also effective for those with asymptomatic infections.
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BioNTech’s chief executive, Uğur Şahin, said that he was optimistic over the vaccine trial. “If the question is whether we can stop this pandemic with this vaccine, then my answer is: yes because I believe that even protection only from symptomatic infections will have a dramatic effect,” Şahin said.
