ANNOUNCEMENT by US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech that their candidate COVID-19 vaccine is 90 percent effective against the pandemic disease, which has killed more than 1.2 million people globally, has boosted hopes of return to normalcy. Experts hope that first vaccines against the coronavirus disease will be available early next year. Qatar had signed an agreement, a couple of months ago, with Pfizer and BioNTech to supply it with their candidate vaccine against COVID-19. After the breakthrough reported by the pharma firms, Qatar hopes to receive the vaccine by the end of 2020 or early next year, if it gets the necessary regulatory approval. The Ministry of Public Health has welcomed the breakthrough reported by Pfizer and BioNTech, terming it ‘very promising’. “This news gives us good reason to be optimistic that life can return to normal sooner than later, but it is important to note that these are the initial results of the study and additional results of the ongoing clinical trials are required to confirm the vaccine’s effectiveness,” the Ministry said. The findings by Pfizer and BioNTech was the result of the first independent analysis of any COVID-19 vaccine in phase 3 trials — the final stage before commercial licensing. Around 43,000 participants took part in the trial. The candidate vaccine is likely to be submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval this month. The two pharmas hope to produce 50 million doses this year and another 1.3 billion doses next year. Health authorities in Qatar have already announced that everyone in Qatar will get the vaccine free of cost and as early as possible. The country is in contact with the manufacturers of some other candidate COVID-19 vaccines as well. Over the past eight months, Qatar has achieved remarkable success against the novel coronavirus pandemic. The country witnessed a major outbreak of the pandemic, recording around more than 135,000 cases. However, country’s proactive approach and a well prepared healthcare system have resulted in one of the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world, with 234 people dying from the disease so far. More than 132,000 people infected with the virus have already fully recovered. The country has also tested more than a million people for the virus so far. The country has also gradually reopened all businesses and international travel while keeping the number of daily new cases in check, thanks to its continued proactive testing and effective quarantine rules for incoming passengers.
