Crucial Covid vaccine data expected from Pfizer this week now unlikely to come before U.S. election

Crucial coronavirus vaccine data expected from Pfizer this week now appears unlikely to come before the U.S. election on Nov. 3.

On a call with investors Tuesday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that the company doesn’t expect to make any announcement on its trial until at least a week after the data and safety monitoring board conducts its review of the company’s phase three vaccine trial. The board, which will assess whether its trial with German drugmaker BioNTech has been successful, has not conducted an interim efficacy analysis yet, Pfizer said.

“Let’s all have patience,” Bourla said on the call. “I know how much the stress levels are growing. I know how much the vaccine is needed for the world.”

The phase three trials are a critical last step needed to get the vaccines cleared for distribution. Three other U.S.-backed candidates are in phase three: Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Pfizer expects to apply for an emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration next month.

Since early September, Bourla has repeatedly said the company could have late-stage vaccine trial data as early as October. The timeline drew concerns from infectious disease experts and scientists who also feared a vaccine authorization could be influenced by politics, not science. President Donald Trump has insisted a Covid-19 vaccine could be ready before Election Day.

Earlier in the day, Pfizer said it had enrolled more than 42,000 volunteers in its late-stage trial. It said nearly 36,000 of the volunteers have already received the second of its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine. n September, Pfizer expanded the enrollment of its phase three trial to up to 44,000 volunteers from the initial target of up to 30,000. 

The vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which scientists hope provokes the immune system to fight the virus.

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