Another vaccine has emerged to show more than 94.5% effectiveness in protecting people from COVID-19, according to interim results.
The US-developed Moderna has announced their ground-breaking results just one week after Pfizer’s historic breakthrough in the fight against Covid-19.
Moderna’s two-dose vaccine has been tested on 30,000 people in the US. The analysis was based on the first 95 to develop Covid-19 symptoms. Only five of the Covid cases were in people given the vaccine, 90 were in those given the placebo.
“This is really encouraging and it further demonstrates that a vaccine for COVID is a real probability and that having more than one supplier should help assure better and more equitable global availability,” said Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive.
The vaccine has been shown to be much more easily stored than the Pfizer vaccine, as it lasts for up to 30 days in household fridges and at room temperature for up to 12 hours. Pfizer’s vaccine requires ultracold freezing between -70C and -80C from production facility to patient.
Moderna said it now plans to apply to the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, for emergency-use authorisation in the coming weeks.