Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Monday that he believes the world “can see light at the end of the tunnel,” after the U.S. pharmaceutical giant announced its coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 for those who had no evidence of previously being infected.
There are more than 50 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the world, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. At least 1,257,747 people have died. Nearly a fifth of all global infections and fatalities are in the U.S. The race to develop a safe and effective vaccine has been closely watched as companies accelerated a process that normally takes years.
“It is a great day for science. It is a great day for humanity when you realize your vaccine has 90% effectiveness. That’s overwhelming,” Bourla in interview with CNBC’s Meg Tirrell on “Squawk Box.” “You understand that the hopes of billions of people and millions of businesses and hundreds of governments that were felt on our shoulders, now… I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Dow futures surged nearly 1,500 point, or 5%, on the news from Pfizer and its vaccine partner Germany-based BioNTech. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was higher by more than 4%.