Initial results showed that the vaccine from the American company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech is more than 90 percent effective against COVID-19. The vaccine should be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees Celsius, but it can be stored for several days at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees.
The Pfizer vaccine is now expected to be approved in other countries. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced yesterday that Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted an application for marketing authorization. The agency will now assess the vaccines for safety, quality and effectiveness, among other things.
If that goes well, the EMA expects to issue an opinion on the vaccine by December 29. If that judgment is positive, the European Commission may be able to take a decision before the turn of the year on the authorization of the vaccine to the European market.
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