Stocks are rising as announcements of a new Covid-19 vaccine were made Monday (Nov 10) morning. One of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, and their German partner, BioNTech, announced preliminary results suggesting their vaccine is more than 90 percent effective. This news could be groundbreaking for people across the world considering everyone has been at home, self-quarantined, for 8 months and counting. Well, that is if people decide to take the vaccine.
Only a few details from the clinical trial of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine were released based upon the first formal review of data by an outside panel of experts. The company tested trial volunteers with no evidence of prior coronavirus infection. Pfizer and BioNTech claim that their research shows the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing the disease. According to The New York Times, these results would match up with highly effective and common childhood vaccines for diseases such as measles.
Spirits are high as people find a slither of hope since facing months of battling this unknown disease and a global pandemic which has killed more than 1.2 million people. Stocks surged by 1.2 percent Monday when news of the vaccine were announced. The market has not seen an increase like this since early September. Shares of companies like airlines and shopping mall operators saw the highest gain as they would benefit greatly from the return of normal activity with the vaccine.
Reports from The New York Times state that Pfizer plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization of the two-dose vaccine later this month, after it has collected the suggested two months of safety data. By the end of the year, the company will have manufactured enough doses to immunize 15 million to 20 million people.
What does that actually mean for the people? Many vaccinations are required for students attending public schools and universities. Parents walk the tightrope of decision-making for their children in regards to these common vaccinations against diseases. Whether their children should be vaccinated to ensure they are able to attend public school or to opt-out of vaccinations all together in the name of holistic living is the question that parents have to face almost as soon as the child is born.
Some states like New York are currently voting to recommend that the Covid-19 vaccination be made mandatory for all state residents, with no exceptions for religious, philosophical or personal beliefs. Similar to being able to attend public school to ensure the safety of other students, states are considering mandating the vaccination for all who wish to return to a state of normalcy in the workplace and beyond.
People are running to Twitter with their opinions on early Covid-19 vaccinations.
Independent scientists have cautioned against jumping the gun with these early results before long-term safety and efficacy data has been collected. No one is certain of the vaccine’s protection rate. Director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases and the doctor at the forefront of coronavirus, Dr. Fauci feels hopeful about reports from Pfizer and BioNTech’s latest findings in the vaccine trial. Pfizer is the first company to announce positive results from a vaccine trial, catapulting it to the front of this global race toward healing and in record speed as a vaccine has never been formulated and distributed in a year’s time.
President Donald Trump recently made accusations that Pfizer and the Democrats delayed vaccine trial results until after the election to prevent him from winning. People share their thoughts about the president’s statements. They express their disdain about the vaccine potentially being released during President Trump’s term.
Regardless of the preliminary results or who’s administration is responsible for the virus’s undertaking, the people are still uncertain about taking a vaccine which was rushed to be produced and released. Specifically, for Black Americans and communities of color, the hesitancy to take any form of Western medicine or common vaccination has been a concern for years. Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccination is no different in the eyes of these citizens. Some people are ready to take the vaccine so that they can return to a normal lifestyle while others are still skeptical of the effects suggesting that the vaccine might be the catalyst to the government’s ultimate control over Americans’ bodies.
Are you open to taking the vaccination to protect yourself against coronavirus or will you attempt to fight it off like the common cold or influenza? There are still many loose holes in the case of Covid-19. There are many details researchers are continuously learning about the disease. Safe to say that most people will wait for more research and data to be shown before making their decisions.
