Pfizer to apply for emergency authorization use of COVID-19 vaccine in November

Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforus and Anjalee Khemlani discuss Ffizer saying it should know if the COVID-19 vaccine works by the end of October.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Shares of Pfizer are on the move this morning. The company said it could be ready to apply for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine by late November. Want to bring in Yahoo Finance health care reporter Anjalee Khemlani for more on this. So Anjalee, what do we know?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Thanks, Alexis. We know that Pfizer has now finally committed to applying for an emergency use authorization of its COVID vaccine in the third week of November. And that's a pretty vocal commitment compared to what they have said prior. They still stand by their timeline of having some sort of indication of the vaccine working by the end of October, which would be the earliest of any of the vaccines.

We know that competitor Moderna, using similar technology, is anticipating results by Thanksgiving. All this to say that it's following-- Pfizer, that is, is following the FDA guidelines, which has yet to be cemented but should be, you know, in play after an October 22 meeting. And to date, Pfizer has never really said they would commit to that additional month of waiting, which is what the FDA guidelines were asking for in order to observe patients and participants more closely to ensure safety of the vaccine.

In his letter, CEO Albert Bourla did say, you know, that science, they're moving at the speed of science, a comment that he has constantly made. And making sure that we understand that the emergency use authorization comes after the safety milestone, so that's where he's committing to that November timeline. So waiting to see how it all pans out, of course.

And this does fall into that window of having at least some sort of vaccine approved, if not widely available, by the end of this year.

BRIAN SOZZI: And Anjalee, we need it, because the COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: That is correct. Cases are continuing to rise. We know that we surpassed 8 million in the US, as well as 218,000 deaths. Meanwhile, globally, 39 million is that new number, unfortunately. And we know we're seeing those hotspots pick up, obviously, you know, the areas that are still experiencing some residual first wave effects out in Montana, Idaho, Wisconsin, and that area, as well as North Carolina, we know recorded a record number.

But the larger states continue to be a focus, Texas, California, and Florida among them, because they are the most densely populated and continue to be a focus as the second wave hit the US.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, Anjalee Khemlani, thanks for the update.