As the world continues to struggle through a every-present COVID-19 pandemic, many are growing impatient wondering if and when this nightmare will come to an end.
We’ve been socially distanced, forced to wear masks, and we’ve been cut off from attending our favorite past time experiences like sporting events, concerts, and other large gatherings in hopes that our diligence will slow the spread of this highly contagious virus. Still, the crisis rages, leaving many to wonder if the mythological vaccine will be graciously handed out to save us all.
If that’s the case, the our patience has payed off, as a new vaccine candidate has arrived on the scene in recent days from Moderna.
From ABC News:
Moderna announced Monday it will ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 vaccine, making it the second company, after Pfizer, to seek EUA for a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.
Pfizer’s public FDA hearing — a crucial step in the authorization process — is scheduled for Dec. 10, and the FDA could make its official authorization decision shortly thereafter.
In an early morning press release, Moderna announced that its FDA hearing will be held a week later, on Dec. 17. Moderna also announced its coronavirus vaccine is more than 94% effective, according to the final analysis of its massive Phase 3 trial.
Among the more than 30,000 volunteers in Moderna’s Phase 3 trial, 196 ultimately developed COVID-19, but the vast majority of those COVID-19 cases happened among volunteers who had been given a placebo injection — an imbalance hefty enough for biostatisticians to feel confident the vaccine is highly effective.
This news came soon after Pfizer announced a similarly effective vaccine trial, and as government officials begin to lay out deadlines for the distribution of such a vaccine.
There are still concerns, however, that a great many anti-vaxxers will be unwilling to receive the shot, on account of their distrust of Big Pharma and their wariness of vaccines in general.
