Moderna Vaccine said to be 95% effective

Moderna Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA) announced the release of data from its vaccine candidate COVID-19 showing its effectiveness. The data showed that the vaccine protected nearly 95% of people from SARS-CoV-2 infection when compared to the placebo group. The company announced that it had enough data from human study participants to begin the initial analysis. The company said that around 53 people in the study contracted the coronavirus, which is the minimum number required for review by an independent data security monitoring body. In a statement, the company said there had been a significant increase in case identification rates across all study centers. In the study, which recruited 30,000 participants, about half received two doses of the Moderna vaccine four weeks apart, while the rest received a placebo. The company's analysis relied on the first 95 people to get an infection, and of those who received the vaccine only five cases were reported, while 90 were from the placebo group. Moderna states the vaccine is 94.5% effective, with data showing that there have only been 11 cases of severe COVID-19, with none of the people vaccinated being infected. Moderna Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks said the vaccine's overall effectiveness was remarkable. Of the total number of study participants, around 37% came from minority communities, 42% were elderly or people with underlying diseases that put them at risk of serious illness. The male to female ratio was 53% to 47%. The Moderna vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, a new approach that uses genetic material to trigger an immune response. The company has already signed supply contracts for the supply of the vaccine once it has been proven to be safe and effective. The FDA said it would approve a COVDI-19 vaccine that has been shown to be safe and over 50% effective. The agency also noted that drug manufacturers should provide post-vaccination safety data for around two months before applying for an emergency permit.