Documents from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that a single dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine provides 52% protection from the disease. All those who receive the vaccine are required to receive two doses for the treatment to be fully effective.
According to the FDA, coronavirus vaccines can also be effective for those who have already been infected with the virus because they may be a risk of re-infection.
One patient died during the trial for the Pfizer vaccine, The patient had several background illnesses, including obesity and atherosclerosis.
The documents indicate that Pfizer's vaccine is effective in about 94% of cases among participants aged 55 and over. The effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine in children under 16 is currently unclear.
The FDA is expected to give its approval for the vaccine's use in the US on Thursday.
The British healthcare system began administering doses of the recently-approved coronavirus vaccine created by Pfizer, with the first injection administered Monday in Coventry.
Ninety-year-old Margaret Keenan became “Patient A” when she received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in Britain Monday.
Britain is set to begin mass immunization efforts starting Tuesday, with fifty hospitals across the country set to administer first doses of the two-dose vaccine.