Moderna’s newest data may finally seal the deal.
Hopes of an end to the COVID-19 pandemic have been gradually ballooning over the last few weeks as major pharmeceutical companies post more and more promising results from their vaccine trials. If a vaccine candidate is promising enough, the company that owns it could apply for an emergency rollout with the FDA to ship it as early as this month. Pfizer already applied to the FDA for an emergency rollout on November 20, but their closest rival in the vaccination race, Moderna, is right behind them.
Moderna announced today that they will be formally applying to the FDA for emergency authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine. According to Moderna, their trump card in this application will be a newly released set of experimental data showcasing their candidate’s impressive efficiency. Based on this new data, Moderna’s vaccine has a 94.1% efficiency at preventing a coronavirus infection, as well as an unprecedented 100% efficiency of preventing especially severe cases. If these numbers are genuine, a surefire weapon against the pandemic could be in the peoples’ hands very soon.
As part of the application process, the FDA will need to comb through Moderna’s data and verify it. Already, though, several FDA officials are optimistic about the findings.
“This is striking,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee. “These are amazing data.”
“It was the first time I allowed myself to cry,” Moderna’s chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks said. “We have a full expectation to change the course of this pandemic.”
The FDA will be reviewing Pfizer and Moderna’s applications in the coming weeks. In the event that one or both applications are approved, the CDC will begin making plans on how to distribute the vaccine and who will get the first shots. It’s expected that the first candidates will be health care workers, as well as vulnerable individuals such as nursing home residents. Moderna will also be applying for distribution with the European Medicines Agency.
