Pfizer Says Its Covid-19 Vaccine Is 90% Effective (Updated)

Update (November 18, 10:10 a.m.): Per NY Times, Pfizer now reports final data suggesting its vaccine is 95% percent effective with no substantial side effects, and they will be applying for emergency FDA authorization "within days."

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Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech announced that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 in tens of thousands of test subjects. “I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla told CNBC’s Meg Tirell on Squawk Box.

Research will continue, and if the data stays strong in the next week, Bloomberg writes, "It could mean that the world has a vital new tool to control a pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide."

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If the vaccine does get emergency approval, it won't immediately be available to everyone. The first people eligible to get the shots will likely be those at a high risk of becoming sick from the virus, such as frontline healthcare workers and the elderly.