United States (US) Biotech firm Moderna Inc. has reported that its developing vaccine against Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shown an efficacy rate of 94.5% based on its recent study.
According to Moderna Inc. CEO Stephane Bancel, “this positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease.”
Among the 30,000 vaccine participants, half received 2 doses while the other half was a placebo group. It has shown that only 5 of those who received the vaccine have been infected by COVID-19 while 90 were infected in the placebo group.
The vaccine uses a synthetic version of the molecules called messenger RNA and hacks into the human cells that are often targeted by the virus. The vaccine being developed by Moderna does not need an ultra-cold storage making it easier to distribute.
Moderna stated that it is ready to produce 20 million doses in the US before the end of the year while it eyes producing 500 million to 1 billion doses for the whole world in 2021.
In relation with this, Pfizer has also recently announced that its developing COVID-19 vaccine has reached more than 90% efficacy. The 2 vaccine frontrunners are planning to acquire an authorization or emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). – PTV News/ Stephanie Sevillano
