LONDON: A British grandmother on Tuesday became the first person in the world to receive a non-trial dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19.
Margaret Keenan, who will celebrate her 91st birthday next week, was vaccinated at a hospital in Coventry in the English midlands.
“It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year,” she said. “My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it. If I can have it at 90 then you can have it too.”
The launch of the vaccine, one of three that have reported successful trial results, marks the beginning of the global fightback against a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million people.
Russia and China have already deployed domestically produced vaccines, though before final safety and efficacy trials have been completed. Russia, one of the hardest-hit countries, began vaccinating high-risk workers on Saturday, and Beijing has also begun an emergency inoculation campaign.
The other two major vaccine candidates have been developed by Moderna and AstraZeneca-Oxford University. The latter is viewed as one of the best hopes for developing countries because it is cheaper and can be transported at normal fridge temperatures, unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored at -70C.
Oxford University and AstraZeneca became the first vaccine makers to publish final-stage clinical trial results in a scientific journal on Tuesday. The study, published in the respected Lancet medical journal, confirmed that the vaccine works in an average of 70 percent of cases.
Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said publication showed developers were “transparently sharing the data.”
He said a range of vaccines would be needed to bring the pandemic to heel, “otherwise we’ll still be in this position in six months’ time.”
He added: “This really can’t be a competition between developers, this has to be a competition against the virus.”
In the US, Pfizer cleared the next hurdle in the race to have its vaccine approved for emergency use when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released documents that raised no new issues about its safety or efficacy.
The agency usually follows the recommendations of its advisory panels but is not required to do so. It is not clear how many days or weeks the FDA will take to make a final decision, but states are preparing for vaccine deliveries in mid-December. The FDA is also expected to give the green light to the Moderna vaccine.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Pfizer and BioNTech will deliver their first doses to his country within weeks.
In India, two pharmaceutical companies — including Serum Institute, the world’s biggest manufacturer of vaccines — have sought fast-track approval for their drugs. India is the world’s second-worst hit nation, with more than 140,000 deaths.
Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, South America’s virus hotspot, will begin providing the Chinese-developed vaccine CoronaVac to healthcare workers, the elderly and other vulnerable groups in January.
In Saudi Arabia, the first consignment of the Pfizer vaccine is expected to arrive in time for vaccinations to begin before the end of the year.
