The Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine gives protection from the COVID-19 disease after the second jab for six months, the ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial has shown, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. Pfizer and BioNTech said that their vaccine against coronavirus is 91% effective with any symptoms for six months, a report by CNN said.

The researchers have also found that the vaccine is fully effective against the South African variant of coronavirus (B.1.351 variant), the companies said. Researchers fear that the South African variant had evolved to evade the protections against the virus by the vaccines. 

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The joint statement read, as quoted by CNN, The vaccine was 100% effective against severe disease as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and 95.3% effective against severe COVID-19 as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

“The high vaccine efficacy observed through up to six months following a second dose and against the variant prevalent in South Africa provides further confidence in our vaccine’s overall effectiveness,” Pfizer and BioNTech said in the statement.

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A day ago, the companies announced that their vaccine has displayed 100% efficacy against the COVID-19 vaccine in children aged between 12-15 years, and will not attempt to get FDA’s approval for adolescents to get the jabs before the next school year.

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Pfizer and BioNTech, which have been studying the vaccine in 46,000 volunteers and noted 927 confirmed COVID-19, said in the confirmed symptomatic cases, 850 were in the placebo group and 77 in the BNT162b2 group. It further added that the study showed that their vaccine is 91.3% effective.