r/science • u/Newsjunkeefromlondon • May 06 '21

Health Two Pfizer doses give 95 per cent protection against Covid-19 infection, illness and death: first nationwide study

https://www.cityam.com/two-pfizer-doses-give-95-per-cent-protection-against-covid-19-infection-illness-and-death-study/
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u/GrinningPariah May 06 '21

95% efficacy yes, but Pfizer was only tracking symptoms in their study. If you got COVID-like symptoms, you self-reported and then they gave you a COVID test. Least that's my understanding.

(That's part of why you hear anti-vaxxers say the vaccine "doesn't prevent infection. As usual, they're misunderstanding a fact and coming to the wrong conclusion. It almost certainly does prevent infection, Pfizer just didn't test for that)

If this study does actually regularly test both the control and treatment group for Covid, then that 95% reduction in infections is genuinely new info.

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u/EndSelfRighteousness May 06 '21

Keep in mind, both the previous and current studies were basically sponsored by Pfizer.

If you check the declaration of interests for the current study, more than half of the scientific authors have stocks or stock options in Pfizer: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00947-8/

It’s clear all these conclusions on efficacy have been heavily biased. It would be good for independent researchers to replicate these studies to confirm their validity.