Which is one reason Pfizer is interested in seeing the results in Israel. Larger sample size than study, and in a real world situation (Technically the phase 3 trials are real world, and in Pfizer's case it is about 42,000 subjects in the trial)
Studies site confidence levels, and interim results are usually set to get an acceptable level of confidence. The big trials so far focused on effectiveness against symptomatic disease, so the level of confidence they shot for is based on that primary goal. There were secondary goals. If one reads the interim study results we will see that the effectiveness has a +/- to it, to compensate for the study size and duration to that point.
I too would not give absolute confidence that any vaccine is 100% effective against covid related death given the amount of available data to date. But I think it is good (Like my non-quant, subjective response of "good"
)
Pfizer originally was going to create their first interim report when they approached about 50 cases. They expected the end point to be when they got 150 cases . But by the time they submitted for EUA they exceeded the number (and I think was close to 200. They had decided not to report with only 50 cases even though that was their original protocol. Been a while since I read all of the documents, so my numbers may be off by a little bit)
A phase 3 study is never the final say. Nor were Phase 1 and 2. They each have a role in determining safety and efficacy, with an acceptable level of confidence. But nothing is 100% assured.
(Example: Sanofi's Dengue vaccine risks discovered post Phase 3 in the Philippians.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/201...leads-criminal-charges-researcher-philippines)
Or the H1N1 flu vaccine Pandemrix in Sweden:
The incidence of narcolepsy rose sharply after the swine influenza A (H1N1) vaccination campaign with Pandemrix. Narcolepsy is an immune-related disorder with excessive daytime sleepiness. The most frequent form is strongly associated with ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Pandemrix is an adjuvanted vaccine used in the prevention of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus infection and has been developed…
www.clinicaltrialsarena.com
Vaccines have led to significant reductions in morbidity and saved countless lives from many infectious diseases and are one of the most important public health successes of the modern era. Both vaccines' effectiveness and safety are keys for the ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov