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Vaccine numbers

How much protection will a new Covid-19 vaccine give?

A vaccine which has shown in a clinical trial to be 90% effective against Covid-19 has been widely welcomed. But what does it mean and how was it worked out? Although experts and politicians urge caution, how excited can we be about the results of this trial of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech? Tim Harford explores what we know about this new vaccine candidate with Jennifer Rogers, vice president of the Royal Statistical Society in the UK, and she also works for Phastar, a consultancy which specialises in analysing clinical trials.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Charlotte McDonald

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Mon 16 Nov 2020 10:50GMT
BBC World Service

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  • Sat 14 Nov 2020 18:50GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
  • Sun 15 Nov 2020 05:50GMT
    BBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean & East and Southern Africa
  • Sun 15 Nov 2020 15:50GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa
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    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Mon 16 Nov 2020 10:50GMT
    BBC World Service

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Podcast

  • More or Less

    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life