--- title: Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term Vaccine Results description: Pfizer-BioNTech say the shot is still efficacious up to six months after the final dose, and seems to have promise against mutant variants. canonical: https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-04-01T13:05:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:10:58.075Z article:section: Health og:title: Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term COVID Vaccine Results og:description: Pfizer-BioNTech say the shot is still efficacious up to six months after the final dose, and seems to have promise against mutant variants. og:url: https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ca33c810385763a/698a186b97cdff54276bbcfb/GettyImages-1232039637.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 7863 og:image:height: 4423 og:image:alt: Pfizer And Moderna Have Begun Testing Their Vaccines On Children og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term COVID Vaccine Results twitter:description: Pfizer-BioNTech say the shot is still efficacious up to six months after the final dose, and seems to have promise against mutant variants. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ca33c810385763a/698a186b97cdff54276bbcfb/GettyImages-1232039637.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term Study Results for COVID-19 Vaccine > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=2050978e-54c7-42b4-96f7-cc6210e9e207&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line [Watch (HLS stream): Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0dwzz5K2.m3u8) (4:28)  _Published 2021-01-20. TIME followed the vaccination process from a Walgreens freezer to a long-term care facility to see what the roll out can look like._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Apr 1, 2021 1:05 PM UTC TIME followed the vaccination process from a Walgreens freezer to a long-term care facility to see what the roll out can look like.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Apr 1, 2021 1:05 PM UTC On April 1, Pfizer-BioNTech released results from the longest study yet of their COVID-19 vaccine. In a release, the companies reported that their two-dose vaccine was 91.3% efficacious in protecting people from COVID-19 disease for up to six months. The companies’ previous data, which led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) [emergency use authorization](https://time.com/5920134/first-authorized-covid-19-vaccine-us/), included an average of two months of follow up of the study participants and showed 95% efficacy against the disease. The longer-term data will form the basis of Pfizer-BioNTech’s planned request to the FDA for formal approval of the vaccine soon. “It is an important step to further confirm the strong efficacy and good safety data we have seen so far, especially in a longer-term follow-up,” said Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, of the results. The data, involving nearly 12,000 people who have been followed for at least six months after vaccination, also showed the two-dose shot was 100% efficacious in protecting them from severe disease as [defined](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (which means any disease requiring hospitalization, intensive care or a ventilator) and 95% efficacious in protecting against severe disease by the FDA’s broader [definition](https://www.fda.gov/media/137926/download), which includes any respiratory distress or shortness of breath at rest, or oxygen saturation below 93%. The companies also reported encouraging results on the vaccine’s ability to protect against the worrisome viral variant B.1.351, which was first identified in South Africa in late 2020\. The variant virus can spread more quickly among people and can’t be blocked by several of the antibody drugs developed to treat COVID-19 infection. Previous studies by the companies showed that antibodies generated by vaccinated people against this particular strain of the virus were several-fold lower than those mounted against the non-mutant virus, but still sufficient to adequately protect people from COVID-19\. The release did not specify if the data from the 800 participants in South Africa was collected mostly before or after the variant began circulating, but noted that there were no cases of COVID-19 disease reported among the vaccinated, and nine cases among the placebo group. Researchers sequenced the virus from these patients and six of the nine belonged to the variant strain. The findings support the companies’ position that the vaccine remains effective against the variant. ## Transcript [00:08] But I am very excited [00:11] that you finally come up with a vaccine. [00:15] I feel the weight of it that this is going to do some good for us. [00:19] And you know that I'm ready for it to start happening. [00:24] You know, waiting to be in line to get my shot to. [00:34] Just all the way to the Yankees or. [00:37] Don't sign for Colbert. So they don't say. [00:40] I actually. [00:46] The biggest challenge [00:47] has been temperature requirements, because that has to be kept [00:52] at ultracold temperature of negative seven degrees Celsius. [00:57] Or if we are [00:57] transporting in a refrigeration, we have a lot more monitoring for that [01:01] because it's only good for so many hours if the temperature excursion happens. [01:07] And then there is a lot of responsibility in terms of liability. [01:10] This vaccine has been very popular, so we have security protocols. [01:14] We are putting SEALs when they're transporting. [01:18] We have cameras installed specifically for this [01:26] over and. [01:48] Yeah. [01:49] And be sorry. [01:52] All right. Keep your arm relaxed. [01:54] Oh, just the needle all done. [01:59] You're not even bleeding. [02:11] So my grandmother actually just passed away, [02:13] I mean, less than two months ago from it. [02:15] So to be out here protecting other people's [02:17] grandparents is really touching me personally. [02:18] Like, I really appreciate the opportunity and just so happy to be a part of it. [02:23] The staff members here, we have about 240 that we're doing. [02:27] We can get through usually with this many immunizations, 40 [02:31] or 50 an hour at this facility specifically, we have over 100 residents [02:35] that are all room to room based. [02:36] So that takes a little more time. [02:38] And then have you ever had a reaction after receiving a vaccine in the past? [02:44] I can see how grateful they are. [02:45] And I'm just grateful [02:47] and honored to be able to give them the vaccine [02:49] for me to be able to do it directly. [02:51] You know, the last patient I just did, she's like, I'm waiting for the vaccine. [02:54] And I was like, I'm here with the vaccine. [02:56] And she's like, You're here with the vaccine. [02:58] So I'm part of the bigger movement of vaccinating basically America. [03:04] And that's it. [03:06] Well, that's the easiest one I ever had. [03:09] I'm glad with hay fever, I was you know, [03:12] they can't come and visit me and I can't go visit them. [03:16] But it's. Oh, gosh, it makes me mad anyway. [03:20] It really is hard. [03:21] And it's been harder for a lot of other people who have lost folks. [03:26] And so I haven't had that problem, but [03:29] it's awful. [03:31] So I will mask myself [03:33] any time to prevent that from happening. [03:37] When I was a kid, [03:39] everybody knew people [03:43] who had somebody in their family that had polio. [03:47] Any vaccine that prevents [03:50] unnecessary pain and suffering is a good thing to have. [03:54] All right. [03:54] I'm just going to sanitize your arm real quick. [04:00] I am happy that my son sometimes [04:03] he talks to me on Facebook on face time. [04:08] This time. [04:09] And my daughter calls me every night. [04:12] I know I can touch them and see them, but [04:16] I just think the time will come. [04:18] I hope. I hope I'm still alive. [04:23] And make [04:25] sure you're safe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/"},"headline":"Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term Study Results for COVID-19 Vaccine","datePublished":"2021-04-01T13:05:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:10:58.075Z","description":"Pfizer-BioNTech say the shot is still efficacious up to six months after the final dose, and seems to have promise against mutant variants.","url":"https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/","keywords":["COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ca33c810385763a/698a186b97cdff54276bbcfb/GettyImages-1232039637.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ca33c810385763a/698a186b97cdff54276bbcfb/GettyImages-1232039637.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pfizer And Moderna Have Begun Testing Their Vaccines On Children","caption":"Pfizer And Moderna Have Begun Testing Their Vaccines On Children","creditText":"NurPhoto via Getty Images—Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/","name":"Pfizer-BioNTech Report First Long-Term Study Results for COVID-19 Vaccine"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tracking the Vaccine: From Freezer to Front Line","description":"TIME followed the vaccination process from a Walgreens freezer to a long-term care facility to see what the roll out can look like.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0dwzz5K2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2021-01-20T18:06:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0dwzz5K2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/","duration":"PT4M28S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5951723/pfizer-biontech-long-term-vaccine-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```