FDA Sets Bar for COVID-19 Vaccine Approval at 50% Effectiveness

While the U.S. and the world have largely fast-tracked efforts to develop a vaccine against COVID-19, experts in the field of immunology and virology have expressed concerns about the speed with which those efforts are moving. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidelines today for where it will set the bar for approval of a vaccine, and that bar may not be as high as many would like.

First off, the agency indicated that it will require the vaccine be at least 50% more effective than a placebo in preventing COVID-19.