The daily business briefing: November 9, 2020

Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is 90 percent effective, astronauts arrive for SpaceX's scheduled 2nd crew launch, and more

The Pfizer logo
(Image credit: Getty Images)

1. Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine candidate over 90 percent effective in interim analysis

A coronavirus vaccine candidate in development from Pfizer and BioNTech was found to be more than 90 percent effective against COVID-19 in a first interim analysis, the companies announced on Monday. In an analysis of 94 subjects infected with the coronavirus, the companies said that the early data "indicates a vaccine efficacy rate above 90 percent." This was a better rate than anticipated. Pfizer previously said it could seek emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine candidate later in November, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday said "today is a great day for science and humanity," adding, "We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.