Covid-19 Cure: UK Govt In Doubt, Says Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine May Not Protect Patients

Amid the covid-19 vaccination taking place in parts of the world, the Government of United Kingdom (UK) has cast doubts on the protective capabilities of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on patients, stressing that it “may not protect all vaccine recipients”.

The UK stated this in an updated “Information for Healthcare Professionals on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine”, published on its website on Thursday.

The disclosure seems contrary to the earlier position of the manufacturers of the vaccine, that is, Pfizer Incorporated and BioNTech.

Pfizer had announced that its “vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis.”

Meanwhile, the UK Government added that it was yet to also ascertain whether the vaccine is good for children below 16 years of age.

“As with any vaccine, vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 may not protect all vaccine recipients.

“The safety and efficacy of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 in children under 16 years of age have not yet been established,” it stated in part.

Recall that the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had on December 2 approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 Vaccine.

The decision was based on widespread coronavirus infection in the country, crossing over 1,640,000 as well as over 59,000 deaths.

However, while governments are pushing for an end to the pandemic, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had maintained that studies on medication, vaccines and the coronavirus was still evolving.

But he warned that over-reliance on a covid-19 vaccine alone was not enough but that strict compliance to the public health advisory was key in flattening the curve.