Politics

Scientist says vaccine could halve transmission

The chief executive of Germany’s BioNTech said Sunday that it is “absolutely essential” to have a high vaccination rate before next autumn to ensure a return to normal life next winter.

In this Monday, July 27, 2020 file photo, a nurse prepares a shot as a study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., gets underway in Binghamton, N.Y. Microsoft says state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers have in recent months tried to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and COVID-19 vaccine researchers. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

By The Associated Press

November 15, 2020

1 minute to read

LONDON — One of the scientists behind the experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer says he’s confident that it could halve the transmission of the virus, resulting in a “dramatic” curb of the virus’ spread.

The chief executive of Germany’s BioNTech said Sunday that it is “absolutely essential” to have a high vaccination rate before next autumn to ensure a return to normal life next winter. He says if everything continues to go well, deliveries of the vaccine will start late this year or early next year.

He says he’s confident that transmission between people will be reduced by perhaps 50% through a highly effective vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech said last week that interim results showed the vaccine was 90% effective.