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COVID-19 Vaccine 101
What we know so far
According to reporting in the New York Times, more than 2.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered by the federal government and more than 556,000 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use in the US, one from Pfizer/BioNTech and one from Moderna.
Pfizer has agreed to deliver 100 million doses of its vaccine to the federal government by the end of March and Moderna is contracted to deliver 100 million by the end of June. The federal government is currently in negotiations with Pfizer for an additional 100 million doses by June.
Pfizer/BioNTech
Pfizer is a US multinational pharmaceutical company, and BioNTech is a German biotech firm. According to the Mayo Clinic, data has shown that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine starts working after the first dose and has an efficacy rate of 95% seven days after the second dose. The vaccine is for people 16 and older and requires two injections, 21 days apart. According to NPR, Pfizer shipped 2.9 million doses of the vaccine in mid December and is awaiting instructions from the federal government to ship more.
