A front-runner coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by Moderna, a biotech firm based in Massachusetts, has been submitted for regulatory approval. The company commented on the current situation, noting that it will ask the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization after completing its Phase 3 trial, finding that vaccine was 94,1 percent effective against the Covid-19.
What is more, Moderna said that the vaccine was 100 percent effective at preventing severe cases of the disease. Interestingly, these results were identical across all age, race, and gender categories, with the most common side effect being fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and headaches. Moderna’s trial involved 30,000 people: half of them were given the vaccine candidate, and the other half — a placebo.
Of this group, the scientists recorded 196 cases of Covid-19, only 11 of whom were from the group that had been given the vaccine. There were 30 cases of serious illness — all of them in the placebo group. So of the 15,000 people given the vaccine, not one became seriously ill with Covid-19 during the trial period, the company said.
“We believe that our vaccine will provide a new and powerful tool that may change the course of this pandemic and help prevent severe disease, hospitalizations, and death,“ Stephane Bancel, Moderna chief executive, said in a statement.
