VOA慢速英语2020--辉瑞声称其COVID疫苗有效率为90%

Pfizer Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine¹ 90 Percent Effective

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report.

American drug-maker Pfizer says its experimental vaccine appears to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.

The information came Monday from early results of a Phase 3 study involving about 44,000 volunteers in the United States and other countries. An independent group of scientists also examined the study.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are the first drug-makers to show successful data from a large Phase 3 trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies also said they have found no serious safety concerns in the testing so far. And they expect to seek emergency use permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later this month.

Albert Bourla is Pfizer's chairman and chief. He said in a statement, "Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent COVID-19."

Bourla added, "With today's news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks."

Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center reported that the health crisis has infected more than 50 million people around the world with 1.2 million deaths.

Jesse Goodman is an infectious diseases expert at Georgetown University and a former FDA chief scientist. He told the Associated Press, "We need to see the data, but this is extremely promising²."

Dr. Goodman noted³ several questions that remain to be answered, including how long the vaccine's effects last and whether it protects older people as well as younger people.

"It's going to be a while before this has a major impact at the population level," he said.

Emergency use authorization⁴

In order to receive FDA's emergency use permission, Pfizer will need to present at least two months of safety data collected on the study's 44,000 volunteers. The information is expected to come by the third week of November. Drug-makers Pfizer and BioNTech will continue to follow the study volunteers for another two years after their second vaccine treatment.

Pfizer said the early finding involved 94 volunteers in the trial who developed COVID-19. Volunteers in the late Phase 3 study and the researchers do not know who received the real experimental vaccine or an inactive substance.

The drug-maker did not say how many of those who got COVID-19 had been treated with the vaccine candidate. However, a 90 percent effectiveness suggests that about 8 out of the 94 volunteers who caught COVID-19 had received the experimental vaccine.

Pfizer plans to continue the study until it records 164 COVID-19 infections among all the volunteers. That is a number that the FDA says is enough to tell how well the vaccine is working. The agency requires a vaccine be at least 50 percent effective for emergency use.

The data has yet to be re-examined or published in a medical journal. Pfizer and BioNTech said it would take action once it has results from the entire trial.

When will COVID-19 vaccine be available?

Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine uses a biotechnology called messenger RNA, or mRNA. The genetically-engineered material causes the body to create a protein to protect against the virus.

No mRNA technology has ever been approved for use in people. The material can be created and manufactured in weeks, much faster than conventional vaccines⁵.

Pfizer and BioNTech have a $1.95 billion contract with the United States government to provide 100 million vaccine treatments. They have also reached agreements with the European Union, Britain, Canada and Japan.

Pfizer said it expects to produce up to 50 million doses of vaccine in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

American drug-maker Moderna also uses messenger-RNA technology in their Phase 3 experimental vaccine. Other COVID-19 vaccine candidates in Phase 3 trials come from drug companies Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca, which is working with the University of Oxford⁶.

China says it has three vaccine candidates undergoing Phase 3 human trials and Russia says it has one.

Words in This Story

initial - adj. happening at the beginning

significant - adj. very important

global - adj. involving the entire world

impact - n. a powerful or major influence or effect

dose - n. the amount of medicine that is taken at one time

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

5 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

6 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。