COVID immunity could last over a year after taking Pfizer’s vaccine
The head of the German firm BioNTech, which developed the vaccine with Pfizer, said research already shows that patients who had the coronavirus and consequently developed high levels of antibodies against it would have at least that much protection against reinfection — and vaccinated people should be no different.
On the heels of the companies’ stunning announcement Monday that studies show their late-stage vaccine is 90 percent effective, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin told Reuters he is “optimistic that the immunization effect can last for at least a year.”
The drug honcho added that current research shows the vaccine must be stored at a temperature of -94 degrees Fahrenheit at its central location before being shipped out — and then can last up to five days at refrigerator temps.
“By December, we expect more data [on its potential storage], and if those results allow us to keep the vaccine in a fridge for longer than five days, maybe two weeks, that would again simplify things” in terms of distribution, Sahin said.
