On Monday morning it was announced that pharmaceutical company Pfizer has produced a vaccine that is 90 percent effective. Scotland’s First Minister stated that this news provides light at the end of the tunnel and issued a passionate rallying call for people to remain motivated during the next phase of the pandemic.
Ms Sturgeon said during her coronavirus press briefing: “It might not be visible at the moment but there is light at the end of this tunnel, don’t forget that.
“The news we have heard this morning about one of the vaccines being developed by the pharmaceutical Pfizer which has been trialled in other countries across the world, the early indication is that it is 90 percent effective.
“That is good news, perhaps among the best news we have had in recent weeks.
“It is not going to provide us with a way out of this today, tomorrow, next week or perhaps not even in this calendar year but that development with all of the other work that is going to the development of other vaccines does right now give us real hope that in the not too distant future science is going to find us a way out of this terrible time we have been living through.
“So hold on to that hope today but also use it as a motivation.
“What we are living through now and all the restrictions that are so difficult for all of us will not last forever.
“It is really important we stick with them now so we get out of the other side of this with as few people as possible becoming ill or losing their lives.”
The results are based on the first interim analysis of Phase 3 of the study and evaluated 94 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in trial participants.
The study enrolled 43,538 participants.
Dr Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO said regarding the vaccine: “Today is a great day for science and humanity.
“The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent Covid-19.
“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.
“With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis.
“We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.
“I want to thank the thousands of people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trial, our academic collaborators and investigators at the study sites, and our colleagues and collaborators around the world who are dedicating their time to this crucial endeavour.
“We could not have come this far without the tremendous commitment of everyone involved.”
