Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine is Allegedly So Good, No One Got Severe COVID-19 After Taking It

Every now and then, whispers of a successful vaccination trial appear in the news but it fades away because of all the (understandably important) red tape and we are still stuck wearing masks when we step out of the house.

But it’s still nice knowing that we are making progress. And with this latest update, maybe the end is finally in sight.

Moderna’s Vaccine

We’ve talked about it before when the biotech company, Moderna, published an interim report from a late-stage trial analysing 95 cases, and (spoiler alert) the results were impressive then as well.

Now, we have results from a 30,000-person efficacy trial and they have exceeded the expectations of many vaccine scientists. Here are the numbers –

• Out of all the people who received two doses of the vaccine, only 11 came down with symptoms upon being infected with the coronavirus
• In comparison, the placebo group had 185 symptomatic cases

This adds up to an efficacy of 94.1%, according to Moderna.

But what about the 11 people who got sick anyway, you say? They’ll be fine actually, since…

100% efficacy against severe disease

Among those who were vaccinated, none came down with severe COVID-19, compared to 30 in the placebo group.

It may not sound like it, but this is a big deal, which is why it is in the headline of this article.

As Chief Executive of Moderna, Stéphane Bancel, says, “So 94 per cent of people we have no disease, no symptoms . . . Those who get it will be very, very mild and so you will almost stop, if not entirely stop, hospitalisation, and death.”

To top it off, the vaccines are said to work equally as well for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, gender etc. The average trial participants were also monitored for two months post-trial and found no causes for concern in the way of side effects. So if you’ve always wanted a third arm, you’re out of luck buddy.

Waiting for the Green Light

Again, we could have the best news about the development of vaccines but it means nothing to us if the needle never makes it to our arms. When are we getting this vaccine, then?

The company has submitted their vaccine for approval in US (Food and Drug Administration (FDA)) and EU (European Medicines Agency)

Specifically, they are requesting for emergency use authorization (EUA) with FDA, who will convene its vaccine advisory committee to discuss the vaccine on 17 December, after they’ve analysed the one from Pfizer (10 December).

The EUA could be issued 24 to 72 hours later.

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