Pfizer vaccine: The announcement of Global drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech regarding their vaccine trial conclusion which resulted in 95 per cent effectiveness in the final analysis has offered hope to millions around the world. The trial included people aged over 65 years, as many as 44,000 participants,  paving the way for the companies to apply for emergency authorisation from US regulators within days.

Also Read: Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 Vaccine Proves 95% Effective In Final Trials, Will Reach FDA For Emergency Use Authorization

When can the vaccine be rolled out for public use?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could grant emergency-use by the middle of December, BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said in a talk with Reuters TV. Conditional approval in the European Union could be secured in the second half of December, he added.
He was quoted as saying by Reuters that if all goes well, the company could gain approval in the second half of December and start deliveries before Christmas.

Within days, it plans to submit the vaccine to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

When will India get the vaccine?

A difficult question to answer as a fixed timeline for the advent of Pfizer's or any other developer's Covid-19 vaccine candidate cannot be predicted.

Even if the vaccine gets the emergency authorisation in the US, it will take at least few months for the Americans to get it.

In India, cold storage required for the vaccine can lead to a technical problem. The Centre had on Tuesday said that it will deliberate if Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19, which needs a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius, should be obtained at all.

NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul, who also heads the National Task Force on Covid-19, said the quantity in which they will be available would not be sufficient for Indian population or not has to be considered as well, but if the vaccine gets regulatory approvals meanwhile, the government will work out a strategy for procurement and distribution.

How many doses will be available globally?

Based on current projections, the companies expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

The major announcement comes just two days after leading biotechnology company Moderna said on Monday its virus vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.5 per cent.

What are the side-effects of the Pfizer vaccine?

The sides-effects noticed after the first or second dose was fatigue, and headache. Further, older adults tended to report fewer and milder side-effects following vaccination.
Pfizer said vaccine was well-tolerated and that side effects were mostly mild to moderate, and cleared up quickly.