Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine offers six months of protection, clinical trial show

By Teddy Grant Published: April 1, 2021

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine offers six months of protection, clinical trial show

In this Wednesday, March 24, 2021 image from video provided by Duke Health, Alejandra Gerardo, 9, looks up to her mom, Dr. Susanna Naggie, as she gets the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations during a clinical trial for children at Duke Health in Durham, N.C. In the U.S. and abroad, researchers are beginning to test younger and younger kids, to make sure the shots are safe and work for each age. (Shawn Rocco/Duke Health via AP)

Pfizer/BioNTech said Thursday that the COVID-19 vaccine offers protection that lasts six months after the second dose, according to ongoing research for their Phase 3 clinical trial.

The vaccine is 91% effective against disease with any symptoms for half a year and offers protection against the South African variant of the virus called B.1.351.

“The vaccine was 100% effective against severe disease as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and 95.3% effective against severe COVID-19 as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” Pfizer and BioNTech said in a statement to CNN.

The vaccine’s protection of six months is longer than previously thought, according to CNN.

“The high vaccine efficacy observed through up to six months following a second dose and against the variant prevalent in South Africa provides further confidence in our vaccine’s overall effectiveness,” said Pfizer’s chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla.

Over 44,000 adults are participating in the Phase 3 trials. The data is from 12,000 of those participants, according to Yahoo.

The news comes after the companies revealed that the vaccine offers adequate protection for adolescents between 12 and 15 years old, BNC previously reported.