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Rome, November 30, 2020 – Good news at the front Vaccine for COVID-19. After the test resultsefficacy estimated at 94.1%, even up to 100% in the prevention of more serious cases, the American company Modern presents today the authorization request use for your serum mRNA-1273 in both the United States and the European Union. “We believe that our vaccine will provide a powerful new tool that could change the course of this pandemic and help prevent serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths,” said Executive Director Stéphane Bancel in communicating the latest results from the phase 3 trial.
The company plans to have the approximately 20 million doses available in the United States already within the year so, if FDA authorization arrives, vaccination will begin on December 21. Moderna also plans to produce 500 million-1 billion doses globally in 2021 It also announced new advancements aimed at ensuring that vaccine distribution, storage and handling can be done using existing infrastructure.
Covid in Italy, the November 30 newsletter on Coronavirus
How the RNA-Based Vaccine Works
Modern was the first vaccine have been prepared and began conducting human trials on March 16 at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, right after 63 days from the publication of the Sars-CoV2 virus genome by Chinese scientific authorities. For now it still has an experimental name: mRNA-1273. Unlike most “classic” vaccines, which allow the administration of inactivated parts of the virus, this one developed by Moderna is based on mRNA technology. An unprecedented approach so far, but one that is succeeding in the race for the anti-Coronavirus serum: another drug that follows the same direction, for example, is that of Pfizer. The approach consists of injecting into the body some mRNA, that is, microparticles of RNA called “messenger” into cells, capable of teaching the body to produce the necessary defenses. In this case mRNA-1273, a portion of the viral protein spike Of surface. In this way, the organism is induced to produce by itself the immune response to the peak, that is, to the “hook” that allows the virus to adhere to the cells and begin its destructive work. Without the need to teach our immune system to fight the virus as a whole, just one fight, in fact, the crucial protein spike.
In recent months the vaccine has passed phases 1 and 2 where safety and other important parameters have been evaluated. In phase 3, on the other hand, in addition to confirming what was observed in 1 and 2, the real effectiveness was verified. In phase 3, in which 30 thousand participants participated divided into two groups, one that received the vaccine and the other the placebo alone. 95 Sars-Cov-2 positive cases emerged from interim analyzes. Of these, 90 were in the placebo group. Not only that, 11 severe cases of Covid-19 resulted in the placebo group alone, a sign that the vaccine could not only prevent the disease but also make it less severe. Results therefore that would indicate an efficiency of around 94%. But the other good news associated with the Moderna vaccine concerns the preservation method. For the mRNA method used by Pfizer, the product is stored at a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius. Those of Moderna, on the other hand, according to the company, would remain stable between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius (those of a normal refrigerator) for a month. In the long run, on the other hand, refrigerators capable of withstanding -20 degrees Celsius would be needed. A significant advantage in terms of logistics and distribution.
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