AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Summary
- Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical firm Moderna reported 94.5 per cent efficacy rate for its newly developed vaccine against the coronavirus.
- After announcing the news this morning (AEDT), Moderna revealed plans to ask for vaccine recognition in the US, Europe, and the UK.
- The US will be given priority in case American authorities allow the vaccine for distribution – 20 million doses are expected to be transported by the end of this year.
Pharmaceutical giant Moderna Inc. (NYSE:MRNA) intends to ask vaccine regulators in the US, Europe, and the UK for urgent approval of its coronavirus vaccine.
According to the company, they performed late-stage study of human trials for the COVID-19 vaccine which turned out to be 94.5 per cent efficient in the battle against the novel virus. Moderna also added that patients did not show any concerning side effects.
The new vaccine proved to be 100 per cent successful in preventing dangerous symptoms of COVID-19, according to the pharmaceutical firm.
Moderna Chief Medical Officer Dr Tal Zaks confirmed the news in the most recent statement, saying he strongly believes in the vaccine triumph. Moderna also expects to be the pioneer in ‘turning around’ the pandemic for the better.
These results also evoked some emotion in Dr Zaks, as he said he shed tears after seeing positive data from the Moderna vaccine.
Image Source: © Kalkine Group 2020
Even though many countries have already ordered the Moderna vaccine, the US will be given priority by the Massachusetts-based pharma company. The state could expect 20 million jab doses by the end of this year if authorities recognise it as a valid vaccine.
However, to be entirely successful in the fight against COVID-19, other promising vaccine manufacturers will need to show the same quantity of positive outcomes. EU and the US are regions heavily impacted by the virus, especially with the approaching winter season.
The US reported more than 160,000 positive cases every day while being almost out of capacity in hospitals and registering approximately 1,400 deaths per day. Currently, the overall death toll around the world is 1.4 million.
ALSO READ: Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine interim results impress, demonstrate 94.5% efficacy
Which are other successful vaccines?
American pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Germany-based, BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), have also reported promising results from their vaccine development, showing 95 per cent efficacy.
Even before Moderna’s announcement this morning (AEDT), Pfizer applied for the urgent recognition a week beforehand.
Apart from applying in the US, a country that has broken many daily records for the number of daily cases, Moderna will seek approval from the European Medicines Agency. The company has already started reviewing Moderna’s findings.
These vaccines have outperformed initial expectations set by the US Food and Drug Administration, which put the satisfying factor at the 50 per cent effectiveness. British pharmaceutical AstraZeneca reported a 70 per cent efficacy rate. In comparison, 90 per cent of success was stated for a group of participants that had a half dose first, followed by the complete dosage. Yet, some experts expressed disbelief about the 90 per cent efficiency that the subgroup experienced.
What are the most significant results from Moderna?
The full trial consisted of 30,000 individuals, 196 of whom voluntarily contracted COVID-19 – 185 individuals got the placebo version of the virus, while the remaining 11 got the real jab.
Moderna revealed that 30 volunteers developed severe coronavirus symptoms, but all of them were part of the placebo subgroup. These findings showed that the Moderna vaccine has a 100 per cent success rate of not developing severe signs of COVID-19.
The report revealed reliability across race, age, gender, and ethnicity groups.
