Pfizer reveals groundbreaking development on vaccine development: Astounding 90 percent effectiveness rate

Pfizer and BioNTech have announced on Monday that their first "milestone" COVID-19 vaccine offers 90 percent protection against the novel coronavirus.

The news comes following a preliminary analysis of the groundbreaking vaccine.

The pharmaceutical companies described Monday as a "great day for science and humanity."

What are the details?

Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they plan to apply for emergency approval through the FDA to begin using the vaccine as early as the end of November. The companies believe they will be able to supply at least 50 million doses by the end of 2020 and approximately 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

According to CNN, Pfizer said that the vaccine provided protection against the deadly virus just seven days after the second dose and 28 days after the initial dose of the vaccine.

The outlet reported, "The Phase 3 trial of the Pfizer vaccine ... has enrolled 43,538 participants since July 27. As of Sunday, 38,955 of the volunteers have received a second dose of the vaccine."

In a news release, Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla said, "With today's news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks."

"Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent COVID-19," Bourla added. "We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today's news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis."

Previously, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it expected at least 50 percent efficacy from any vaccine against COVID-19.

Following the announcement, Dow futures soared 1,700 points — nearly 6.1 percent.

President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Twitter, writing, "Stock market up big, vaccine coming soon. Report 90% effective. Such great news!"

In a statement on the new development, president-elect Joe Biden added, "I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope. At the same time, it is also important to understand that the end of the battle against COVID-19 is still months away. This news follows a previously announced timeline by industry officials that forecast vaccine approval by late November. Even if that is achieved, and some Americans are vaccinated later this year, it will be many more months before there is widespread vaccination in this country."