This is what a Lebanese doctor who worked on the “Moderna” vaccine revealed.

The announcement of the American drug manufacturer Moderna of a vaccine to prevent infection with the Coronavirus by 95% continues to interact worldwide after the two companies, “Pfizer” and “Biotank”, announced that their vaccines are 98% effective , which reinforces the confidence that the battle to eliminate the epidemic that devastates the year with a weapon. The vaccines took off with force.

In this context, Lebanese-American doctor Nadine Raphael Makaron, professor of infectious diseases at Emory University and director of the Hope Clinic at the University’s Vaccine Center, who is part of the team of researchers that worked on the vaccine Modern, she spoke in an interview with author Johnny Fakhry on the website. Al Arabiya.net “The vaccine is safe and effective, and the results obtained by the researchers so far are very good.” However, he explained that the duration of the immunity it creates is still unclear so far, despite the promising results.

In addition, he warned that “there is a possibility of facing a harsh winter, but summer will definitely be safe.”

Moderna and Pfizer used innovative and experimental new methods in developing the two vaccines, and they are very similar in mechanism of action, as Raphael claims, while the two differ from the predominant patterns followed by the usual vaccines.

The Lebanese-born doctor worked on the “Moderna” vaccine in the first and third stages, saying: “We started the first clinical trials last March, and to this day, there have been no worrisome symptoms of the vaccine, except a little of pain in the hand that we injected with the vaccine, and this is normal. “

The third phase of clinical trials began in early Roufael according to July.

What reinforces the confidence in the “Moderna” vaccine is its high efficacy, which reaches 95%, while the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine, for example, does not exceed 52%, and this in itself is a great achievement.

The Moderna vaccine consists of small pieces of DNA “mRNA” that stimulate the body to produce the protein on the surface of the emerging corona virus.

He also explained: “The vaccine requires two injections, each four weeks apart, and the priority will be for the medical system and the nursing corps, because it is in the front rows in front of Corona, then the elderly and people who suffer. chronic diseases, and children will receive the vaccine from the age of 12. “

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the coronavirus vaccine race is its length. At a time when scientists and doctors have succeeded in producing vaccines that are 100% guaranteed effective and last a lifetime, such as the measles and polio vaccine that children receive at an early age, studies and research on vaccines Pfizer and Moderna did not specify the time period for the vaccine’s effectiveness in the human body.

In context, Raphael emphasized that “there is still no answer on the duration of immunity that the vaccine gives to the body, and we hope that it will continue for many years.”

Furthermore, he noted, the “Moderna” vaccine can be stored in regular refrigerators for a period of 6 months and for one month in refrigerators without losing its effectiveness, unlike the “Pfizer” vaccine, which needs to be stored in extremely cold temperatures that they reach 70 degrees below zero.

He also hoped that “before the end of the year, more than one active vaccine would be announced, including” Johnson & Johnson “, the University of Oxford and Novapax.

Moderna plans to produce 20 million doses before the end of the year, all of which will go to the United States, and the United States government will distribute them free to Americans.

In conclusion, Rofail confirmed that “winter will be very difficult due to the rapid spread of the virus, but the summer of 2021 will be safe based on the number of vaccines to be announced soon, but the main question remains: Will people accept take the vaccine? “