COVID-19 vaccines are safe, even with long-term data lacking Vaccines have been developed in record time, but medical experts say there has been no skimping on safety. Listen - 10:16 The first COVID-19 vaccineapproved for emergency use by the FDA isn't just a vaccine created in record time to combat the biggest pandemic in recent history. It's also a technological breakthrough that could change how we produce and deliver vaccines in the future. The new vaccine, developed by biotech giant Pfizer and German startup BioNTech, uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, to stimulate the immune system into protecting against infection from the coronavirus. An extensive clinical trial with over 43,000 participants has shown Pfizer's vaccine to be safe and 95% effective against COVID-19. It heralds the beginning of the end for a pandemic that has killed over 1.6 million people across the world