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Are COVID-19 vaccines safe even though the vaccines were developed rapidly?
See full answerAlthough COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, research and development on vaccines like these have been underway for decades. All vaccine development steps were taken to ensure COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness, including:
- Clinical Trials – All vaccines in the United States must go through three phases of clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective. The phases overlapped to speed up the process, but all phases were completed.
- Authorization or Approval – Before vaccines are available to people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews data from clinical trials. FDA has determined three COVID-19 vaccines meet FDA’s standards and has granted those vaccines Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs)external icon or full FDA approval.
Does the COVID-19 vaccine reduce the transmission of the Delta variant?
This study confirms that COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of delta variant infection and also accelerates viral clearance in the context of the delta variant. However, this study unfortunately also highlights that the vaccine effect on reducing transmission is minimal in the context of delta variant circulation.
How was the COVID-19 vaccine developed so quickly?
Scientists began work on the COVID-19 vaccine in January 2020. Dedicated vaccine funding helped move vaccine candidates through the pre-clinical/clinical assessments and trials both quickly and thoughtfully. This has enabled researchers to advance into phase 3 clinical trials (testing the vaccine on large groups of people to evaluate safety and effectiveness) in six months instead of the typical two years. The vaccine was mass produced before the clinical studies were complete to save time.
Is Delta more transmissible than the Alpha COVID-19 variant?
It’s estimated that Delta caused more than twice as many infections as previous variants—in Connecticut, it was estimated to have been 80 to 90% more transmissible than the Alpha variant.
Who is the scientist that developed the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine?
Katalin Kariko, PhD, a senior vice president at BioNTech, and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, a professor in vaccine research at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, made a breakthrough discovery by modifying messenger RNA (mRNA), which provides instructions to cells to make proteins.