Senator Hoylman Hails Pfizer Vaccine Progress

NEW YORK -- Yesterday Pfizer shared promising news about the efficacy of their vaccine in recent trials, suggesting their vaccine was more than 90% effective. This preliminary result is far above the 60% threshold Dr. Anthony Fauci said was the baseline for what he’d consider an acceptable vaccine. State Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WFP-Manhattan) is a participant in the Pfizer vaccine trials and also is the author of (S.8182-A/A.10508-A), which authorized licensed pharmacists to administer an approved vaccine for COVID-19.

Senator Brad Hoylman said: “I congratulate the researchers and medical personnel who helped achieve this historic milestone, including those at the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Health, who have taken such good care of me and other trial participants.

It’s humbling to be a participant in this vaccine trial and do my part to advance a vaccine against a pandemic that has killed more than 1.26 million people worldwide, as well as stand up for science as a public official who believes in the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

“While we should be heartened by this development, we can’t let our guard down. COVID rates are rising in New York and across the country again at a terrifying rate. No vaccine will be ready for distribution this fall and winter, and we all need to take even more precautions to avoid the devastation we lived through in March and April. Now is not the time to let up on social distancing. If anything, a vaccine on the horizon is more incentive to take precautions until a vaccine is safe to distribute.”

In August, Senator Hoylman began participating in a Phase 3 clinical trial for a vaccine candidate to prevent COVID-19 through the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, under the auspices of NYU Langone Health’s Vaccine Center. NYU Langone Health’s Vaccine Center will be conducting several COVID-19 vaccine trials in conjunction with the national COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN).