Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Why the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is no cure for all coronavirus ills

Why the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is no cure for all coronavirus ills

Amid the excitement over a vaccine said to be 90 per cent effective, questions remain over virus mutations, people refusing to take it and the problem of storing it at -80 degrees.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has raised hopes for the end of the pandemic after the interim result of trials showed 90 per cent effectiveness, but questions remain about safety, distribution and its precise effect on the virus.

Before the vaccine is approved for use by health authorities around the world, it will have to meet certain safety requirements that vary by jurisdiction.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration is requiring manufacturers to produce safety data on half of subjects for two months after their second dose of the vaccine before it can be approved for emergency use.

Pfizer has said it expects to reach this by the third week of November, and has reported no serious adverse reactions in the nearly 40,000 trial participants who have received two doses of the vaccine.

The US multinational believes it can produce 50 million vaccine doses this year and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

Ian Frazer, a professor at the University of Queensland who co-invented the human papillomavirus vaccine, said there was still a “small risk of unexpected safety issues” and that some people might refuse to take it.

“It depends on their risk level – I’d have it if working in a hospital,” he said. “I’d guess that most young people will think twice in Australia
where there’s now no virus.”

Terry Nolan, a vaccine expert at the University of Melbourne, said that while he found safety concerns about such a rapidly developed vaccine “understandable”, it would be vital for the public to get on board with mass immunisation.

“Unless there are very high levels of protection of the community there’s very little hope of getting anything near herd immunity,” Nolan said.

Apart from safety, potential complications could include virus mutations that could impact the vaccine’s effectiveness over time.

Health authorities across the world have indicated that the first doses of a successful vaccine will go to high-risk groups, such as frontline health care workers, employees in aged care facilities, and the elderly.

Frazer predicted the general public would have to wait a “year or longer” until they would have access to the vaccine.

Nolan suggested a less conservative time frame, saying he expected a vaccine to be available “well before” a year’s time.

He said Pfizer’s apparent breakthrough indicated that other vaccines based on the same principles would also be effective, which would be a “matter of comfort for the world that the supply from a number of manufacturers is very likely to be there”.

Nearly a dozen vaccines are in large-scale, human trials – known as phase 3 trials – including candidates developed in the US, China, Russia and Britain.

In August, Russia became the first country to announce the approval of a vaccine before the completion of extensive human trials, prompting widespread scepticism and criticism among scientists and medical professionals.

The Russian government later said the approval of the vaccine, developed by the Moscow-affiliated Gamaleya Institute, was “conditional” on the results of phase 3 trials. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of a second vaccine before phase 3 trials had even begun.


Demonstrators with a giant syringe protest against China's Sinovac vaccine.


China has approved the limited use of three vaccines for some groups such as the military, including the Sinovac Biotech vaccine, trials for which were briefly halted by Brazilian authorities on Monday following an “adverse event”. Brazil’s health authority restarted the trials on Wednesday after it was confirmed that a volunteer had died from suicide, not an adverse reaction to the vaccine.

Chinese health officials have reported no adverse side effects from the hundreds of thousands of doses administered through the emergency use listing of the Sinovac vaccine and vaccines by CanSino Biologics and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

Governments around the world have invested huge sums into securing multiple different vaccines ahead of time, with the cost per dose ranging from US$32-US$37 for the Moderna vaccine to a few dollars for AstraZeneca’s offering. The US government paid US$1.5 billion to Moderna alone to secure 100 million doses of its candidate.

The buying up of potential vaccines by rich countries has raised concerns about their availability in the developing world.


As of September, developed countries including the US, Britain , Australia and Japan had secured more than half of the 5.3 billion doses allocated in supply deals inked by AstraZeneca, the Gamaleya Institute, Moderna, Pfizer and Sinovac, according to an analysis by Ofxam.

In response to such concerns, the global collaboration Covax has raised more than US$2 billion from nearly 100 rich nations to purchase and distribute vaccines among poorer countries.

Distribution poses a major challenge due to the particular storage requirements of the vaccine, particularly in lower-income countries with less developed infrastructure. Unlike most vaccines which can be stored in a normal refrigerator, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine must be kept at -80 degrees Celsius. Freezers capable of maintaining such temperatures are uncommon even at major hospitals in developed countries. Pfizer has said it plans to use dry ice to transport the vaccine by land and air to distribution centres around the world, a daunting logistical feat.

“Are there sufficient ultra-low [temperature] refrigerators at vaccination sites?” asked John Siu Lun Tam, a vaccination expert at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. “How would we know if the ‘ultra-low cold chain’ had been kept and that the vaccine you get is not inactivated?

“The complete vaccinations process requires two injections,” Tam said. “There will be a logistics issue about how to make sure people actually get two doses.”

A big unknown remains the vaccine’s effectiveness in stopping transmission of the virus. While the Pfizer/BioNTech candidate has shown major promise in preventing sickness, there is as yet little indication it is effective at stopping the spread of infection among people.

“The animal studies which have been done ahead of time so far, including some challenge studies in monkeys, suggest that this class of vaccine may not prevent transmission,” Nolan said.

That could result in authorities significantly prolonging their pandemic restrictions. Plans for unrestricted international travel for those with a “health passport” showing they have been vaccinated, for example, might have to wait.

“The whole quarantine business is very, very difficult,” Nolan said. “To have completely free travel for those who have, say, a passport, would be what we’re hoping to happen, but we can’t at the moment guarantee that would happen.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×