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World Service,2 mins

How much of a game-changer is the new Covid-19 vaccine?

Newshour

Available for over a year

The developers of the first effect coronaviurus vaccine - Pfizer and BioNTech - have heralded its announcement as a "great day for science and humanity". Their vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised. The companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month. Some have gone as far as to say that normal life could be resumed by the spring. Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and former commissioner of the New York City Health Department, explains that although the initial analysis points to "an efficacy higher than any of us expected", there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of uncovering how long protection will last and the challenges of distribution. There's no quick and easy end to this pandemic." Photo: Busy street with sunburst Credit: Getty Images

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