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“There is nothing better”: Fauci is satisfied with the progress of the corona vaccine
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The American company Moderna reports a high efficacy of the vaccine
After BioNTech and Pfizer already reported positive data for their corona vaccine, the American company Moderna is now doing the same. Its RNA vaccine is 94.5 percent effective.
Another project has been successful in the global race for a corona vaccine. The preparation from the American company Moderna appears to be more than 94 percent effective, and has a decisive advantage over BioNTech’s.
reRenowned American corona expert and immunologist Anthony Fauci enthusiastically responded to data from the American pharmaceutical company Moderna on his corona vaccine. “These are obviously very interesting results,” Fauci said, according to CNN. Moderna announced Monday that interim results showed an effectiveness of 94.5 percent. “There is nothing better: 94.5 percent are really excellent,” says Fauci.
He estimates that the first vaccinations in the US could begin in December for high-risk groups, with the rest of the population more likely to receive them in late April. “And that will come in May, June and July. That will take a few months. ” Moderna hopes to apply for an emergency permit in the US in the next few weeks.
In addition, it emerged on Monday that the European Medicines Agency Ema is initiating the so-called process of continuous review of the Moderna vaccine, which aims to achieve comparatively rapid approval. According to its own information, the EU Commission is currently negotiating with the US company the delivery of up to 160 million doses of vaccine. A contract has not yet been concluded.
Moderna is the second major US pharmaceutical company to report positive data from the pivotal study with a corona vaccine in one week. Last Monday, Mainz-based biotech company BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer announced that their vaccination offered more than 90 percent protection against Covid-19.
Both vaccines are based on mRNA technology, which has never been used to produce an approved vaccine. A preliminary analysis of data from more than 30,000 volunteers found that Moderna’s vaccine prevented virtually all symptomatic cases of Covid-19, the company said.
Only five participants who received two doses of the vaccine became ill, compared to 90 cases of coronavirus in participants who received a placebo. This was the result of a review by an independent data security oversight body.
The vaccine also appeared to be effective in preventing the most serious Covid-19 infections. According to Moderna, there were no serious cases in the people who received the vaccine compared to 11 in the volunteers who received a placebo. Final data from Moderna’s study is expected later this month.
Operation Warp Speed Program Funds
Moderna, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, received $ 955 million from the US Operation Warp Speed program to develop its vaccine, and the US agreed to pay up to $ 1.53 billion to purchase the vaccines. Pfizer has not received US funding to develop its vaccine, according to the company, but it has signed a delivery agreement with the United States worth nearly $ 2 billion.
There are some differences between Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines: for example, the Pfizer product must be stored at extremely cold temperatures for a few days before use, creating logistical obstacles. Moderna said Monday that new stability data showed its vaccine was stable for 30 days at refrigerator temperatures, much longer than the previously estimated seven days. It can be kept in freezers for long-term storage, but does not require the special facilities required for Pfizer vaccine.
Analysis of Moderna’s data did not reveal any material security concerns. Some participants experienced severe fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, and headache after receiving the vaccine, although side effects were generally short-lived. The two doses of Moderna’s vaccine are given four weeks apart. The two doses of Pfizer are given over three weeks.
