On Monday, US biotech firm Moderna Inc said preliminary data from a continuing phase three study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine showed it to be 94.5 percent effective.
This is the fourth time a corona vaccine has been called highly effective. The first vaccine was Remdesivir, then Pfizer and BioNtech announced the vaccine to be 90 percent effective, then Russia called their Sputnik V vaccine 92 percent effective and now US biotech firm Moderna Inc announced the corona vaccine to be 94.5 percent effective.
Today again, there is promising news from the race for a COVID-19 vaccine as infections surge across the United States and Europe. Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel in a statement said, “This is a pivotal moment in the development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate.”
“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.”
The news follows on from last week’s announcement from US drug giant Pfizer that phase three trial results for the COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with Germany’s BioNTech showed it to be more than 90 percent effective. The results of both trials place Moderna and Pfizer on track to seek authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks for emergency use of their vaccines.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azhar responded to the Moderna news on Twitter, writing: “This news is another stunning result of President Trump’s leadership and his unwavering support for #OperationWarpSpeed, an incredible tribute to American scientists and innovators, and one more reminder that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Meanwhile, Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bouria, said on Twitter that he is “thrilled” by Moderna’s trial result, adding: “Our companies share a common goal – defeating this dreaded disease – and today we congratulate everyone at Moderna and share in the joy of their encouraging results.”
