11.18.20 (Wired.com)
| Pfizer releases more promising news, the FDA approves the first at-home test, and Larry Brilliant offers his pandemic forecast. Here’s what you should know: Pfizer and BioNTech release more promising vaccine news and prepare to apply for FDA authorization Pfizer and BioNTech announced today that new results show their coronavirus vaccine is 95 percent effective. Last week the companies said their vaccine was more than 90 percent effective after 94 of the trial’s participants were infected. Now more than 170 volunteers have the disease, but only eight of them got the actual vaccine rather than the placebo. Only one of those eight developed a severe case. No detailed data has been released, and results haven’t been independently reviewed. The companies say they now have the required data to apply for FDA authorization, which they plan to do in the coming days. FDA approves the first at-home coronavirus test kit The FDA has authorized the first at-home coronavirus test. Developed by Lucira Health, it involves swabbing the insides of the nose, then placing the swab in a vial, which is then placed in a “test unit” that gives results in half an hour. It’s available with a prescription to anyone at least 14 years old, and can be used on younger people as well, if a health care provider takes care of the sample. While it’s still unclear how fast Lucira will increase production, the test is made in the US and should cost under $50. Epidemiologist Larry Brilliant forecasts that we will beat Covid—after we go through hell Epidemiologist Larry Brilliant warns that this pandemic is fated to get worse before it gets better, with cases across the US on the rise and the holidays all but certain to accelerate spread further. Still, he tells WIRED, the advent of likely viable mRNA vaccines is “a circle-this-event in science,” and will shave months, if not years, off the amount of time that this virus will seriously impact society. |