The U.S. drugmaker brings more exhilarating news to the world. Moderna Inc has just recently reported that its vaccine showed a 95.4% effectivity rate in preventing COVID-19. Moderna is the second company to bear a significant result with the COVID-19 vaccine development.
Behind the COVID-19 vaccine development
Similar to Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, Moderna utilized messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in its COVID-19 vaccine development. Noted from Reuters, Moderna generated the 95.4% figure from its analysis on 95 of their infected trial participants. These participants had either received a placebo or the vaccine beforehand. Upon further analysis, Moderna discovered that amongst the 95 people, Moderna found out that 5 COVID-19 positive participants had received two shots of the vaccine which was injected 28 days apart.
The vaccine will further under test for its effectivity on people of different ages and races. Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at Longdon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine noted that “we will need much more data and a full report or publication to see if the benefit is consistent across all groups, notably the elderly, but this is definitely encouraging progress.”
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is easier to distribute?
Moderna’s vaccine might be easier to distribute. Different from Pfizer’s vaccine that needs to be shipped and stored at -70C, Moderna suggests that its vaccine might be able to survive at around 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for around 30 days. Storing at -20C might even expand the longevity to around 6 months.
Moderna is aiming for 500 million to 1 billion doses of vaccines production in 2021. The company will further distribute the vaccines to the U.S. and international manufacturing sites, depending on the demand. However, Moderna will still need to wait until they have enough safety data stored to get the U.S. Authorization. According to Reuters, Moderna officials expects to finish them by next week and continue on emergency use authorization (EUA) filing in the following weeks.
Moderna’s success earned interest from investors
Moderna’s shares have been in a constant rise throughout this year. The number has reached over four more times higher than it is last year. Premarket trading also rose 15%, taking European stocks and Wall Street stock futures to rise along with the vaccine update news. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s shares slipped 1.7% in premarket trading. Britain’s AstraZeneca, which still has not yield any result from its late-stage vaccine trials was also seen 0.7% weaker.
Read also: India: $6 Billion COVID-19 Vaccine Sales Expected
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