Woman among first to take Pfizer’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine calls it 'huge breakthrough'

A Baltimore woman who was among the first to take a experimental vaccine developed by Pfizer calls it a "huge breakthrough."

Cynthia Sikorski, who lives in Howard County, Maryland took one of the first experimental doses and says she’s been COVID-free, WJZ-13 reported.

She told the station that she's "very, very happy to hear that they are so close. It’s just a huge breakthrough for everyone."

Pfizer Inc. on Monday said results from its most recent human trials on its coronavirus vaccine show it is more than 90% effective. The drug maker said it is now on track to ask health regulators for permission to begin distributing and selling the vaccine – which is two shots weeks apart – by the end of the month, if continued trials demonstrate that the vaccine is safe. 

The Food and Drug Administration requires a company to monitor at least 50% of a study's subjects for side effects for a period of two months before making a safety assessment of the vaccine. Pfizer says it is in on track to collect that data by next week, and could apply for FDA emergency authorization soon after that.

The safety and efficacy check of Pfizer's vaccine was conducted by an independent panel of experts, called a data-safety monitoring committee. They shared their findings with the company on Sunday. 

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine were the first in the U.S. to participate in the trial of the Pfizer vaccine, beginning in May.

“When we saw the news, when everybody else saw it yesterday morning, only six months into this effort, we were really thrilled,” Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, the Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told the TV station on Tuesday.

“We know it’s early data, we know it’s more to come, but it is a terrific starting place,” Dr. Neuzil said.

Researchers at the university said of the 40,000 people who were administered the vaccine, just 94 developed COVID-19. 

“I can say when the vaccine is available, I can feel comfortable taking the vaccine because of this process,” Dr. Neuzil said.