US-based Moderna just announced that their COVID-19 vaccine, the mRNA-1273 have been found to be 94.5% effective, after its Phase 3 study, which the company is calling the COVE study. Moderna’s COVE study, have more than 30,000 participants in the U.S.
Similar to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was reported to be 90% effective, Moderna’s vaccine candidate is a two-dose vaccine that needs to be administer 28 days apart. Base on their reports, 95 out of 30,000 participants, have been tested positive for COVID-19, 90 cases of COVID-19 were included in the placebo group, while the other 5 cases are those who received mRNA-1273 vaccine.
Within the 90 cases in the placebo group, 11 are severe cases. Moderna futher brokedown the 95 cases which includes 15 older adults (ages 65+) and 20 participants identifying as being from diverse communities (including 12 Hispanic or LatinX, 4 Black or African Americans, 3 Asian Americans and 1 multiracial).
Moderna classed the side-effects of the vaccine as mild or moderate; On the first dose, 2.7% participants had injection site pain classed as severe; after the second dose, 9.5% of participants experience fatigue, 8.9% experience muscle pains, 5.2% have joint pain, 4.5% experience headache, 4.1% felt pain and 2% had redness of the skin at the injection site.
In a separate announcement, Moderna said that their mRNA-1273 vaccine will remain stable for 30 days at 2° to 8°C (36° to 46°F), the temperature of a standard home or medical refrigerator. It can be stored for 6 months in storage at -20° C (-4°F), 30 days in a refrigerated conditions and up to 12 hours at room temperature conditions.
Moderna will submit the findings of their Phase 3 COVE study for a peer-reviewed publication and are currently seeking regulatory approval.
We just announced that mRNA-1273, our COVID-19 vaccine candidate, has met its primary efficacy endpoint in the first interim analysis of the Phase 3 COVE study.
Read more: https://t.co/vYWEy8CKCv pic.twitter.com/YuLubU1tlx— Moderna (@moderna_tx) November 16, 2020