Since the devastating emergence of COVID-19, nearly 7 million people have lost their lives to the respiratory virus. Although it is hard to imagine, COVID-19’s death toll would be far more calamitous if not for the development and distribution of vaccines. In fact, the Commonwealth Fund estimated that within the two years since the vaccine’s arrival, it has prevented 3,255,656 deaths, 18,851,131 hospitalizations, and 119,851,779 infections in the United States. Worldwide, the COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have saved nearly 20 million lives, cutting deaths around 63%! Here are 5 COVID-19 vaccine facts to help readers learn more about this incredible medicine:
5 COVID-19 Vaccine Facts
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- The first COVID-19 vaccine was fully approved by the FDA on August 23rd, 2021. (source) Prior to that, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was authorized for emergency use starting on December 11th, 2020.
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- Pfizer, the creator of the mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, made $2,578 per second in 2021! (source) The pharmaceutical company nearly doubled their revenue from the previous year ($81.288 billion from $41.91 billion). The vaccine they created holds 70% of the U.S. and European markets. They also made Paxlovid, the antiviral drug of choice to treat COVID symptoms.
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- The COVID-19 vaccines are the fastest vaccines ever created. (source) It took less than 12 months to develop a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19. The previous record was held by the mumps vaccine, which took four years to develop! However, that does not mean that the COVID-19 vaccines are not safe and thoroughly tested. See the fact below!
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- The COVID-19 vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna were created using a method that has been in development for years. (source) This enabled companies to start the vaccine development process early on during the pandemic. The developers did not skip any crucial testing steps, but did conduct some steps on an overlapping schedule to gather data more rapidly.
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- The U.S. government has spent over $30 million on COVID-19 vaccines, including the boosters. (source) The weighted average purchase price per dose is $20.69.
