The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech effective just two weeks after the first of two doses, according to newly released documents published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The news comes ahead of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee meeting on Thursday, which will lead to a vote whether the administration is willing to recommend the authorization to use Pfizer’s vaccine in the country.
The FDA’s conclusions are yet another glowing endorsement of the vaccine. According to preliminary data released by Pfizer and BioNTech last month, two doses of the vaccine administered three weeks apart resulted in an effectiveness of 95 percent.
The FDA’s analysis suggests it may be effective much sooner: after just ten days, as The Verge points out, with new COVID-19 cases quickly diminishing in the vaccinated group — and that’s not even after the second of two doses has been administered.
“This is what an A+ report card looks like for a vaccine,” Yale University immunologist Akiko Iwasaki told The New York Times.
The US wouldn’t be the first to authorize the vaccine. The UK became the first to do so last week and has already started administering shots.