Pfizer's vaccine is based on RNA, which is a very unstable molecule that is prone to breaking down. Storing it at -94° F prevents this, but it creates the logistical difficulty of transporting the vaccine.
vaccines
There are three major reasons why SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, will never be eradicated.
There are about 2,000 drugs and vaccines (mostly the former) now in clinical trials. ACSH advisor Dr. Henry Miller argues that to get COVID-19 under control we will need therapeutics no matter how effective vaccines are. Here's why.
Herd immunity as a way to fight COVID-19 is a hot topic these days -- but for all the wrong reasons. In an opinion column published in the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke, and ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom argue that it's dangerous and simply won't work.
If Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is successful, it will be the first-ever mRNA vaccine on the market. How is the vaccine made and how does it work?
There have been several significant developments in recent days regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the hunt for a successful vaccine. We discuss some of them below.
Given that more than 200,000 Americans have died (at least in part) due to COVID-19, there seems little to lose and much to gain by green-lighting human challenge trials in which volunteers are vaccinated and then deliberately infected with coronavirus. The U.S. should follow the UK's lead.
It is difficult to overstate the potential damage that an ineffective or unsafe coronavirus vaccine could inflict on confidence in public health institutions. Conspiracy theories already abound and would multiply further.
The University of Oxford, in collaboration with British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, has produced a leading coronavirus vaccine candidate. However, the Phase 3 clinical trial was paused because one patient is thought to have developed a serious adverse reaction. What could it be?
Are vaccines going to be adequately tested for safety and efficacy if Phase 3 clinical trials are not completed? Does convalescent plasma work to treat COVID? Is the COVID death toll inflated? We attempt to clarify these controversies.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn indicated that his agency would be willing to grant emergency authorization to a coronavirus vaccine, even before it completes Phase 3 clinical trials. This is a reckless gamble and could cause an unmitigated public health disaster.
Large pharmaceutical companies are multinational organizations with incentives to distribute their vaccines broadly.