3 ms·
> The data released by Pfizer Monday was delivered in a news release, not a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is not conclusive evidence that the vaccine is saf
by sergioisidoro 6y ago
> The data released by Pfizer Monday was delivered in a news release, not a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is not conclusive evidence that the vaccine is safe and effective, and the initial finding of more than 90 percent efficacy could change as the trial goes on.
The title is quite sensationalistic for such preliminary results. Especially when they have only been reviewed by an "outside panel of experts" [1] who sometimes have undisclosed conflict of interests.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/health/covid-vaccine-pfizer.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/health/covid-vaccine-pfiz...
- svara 6y agoIt's a highly formalized clinical trial, it would be nonsensical to misrepresent or exaggerate the results. The preliminary analysis is based on 94 cases; not a huge number, but totally reasonable to draw conclusions from.
- sergioisidoro 6y agoMy point was the validation and peer-review. There are many possible confounding factors, including isolation and mask use. Also I might have misread the protocol, since I'm no medical scientist, but wasn't the efficacy of the vaccine measured only in a 1 month timespan? Are we even sure the effects are long lasting? I just don't want to get the hopes too high too soon. The crash after a positivity high can be quite bad. Reuters is even live streaming Wall Street because of this announcement!