Moderna to Apply for Emergency Authorisation of COVID-19 Vaccine

A late study claimed that Moderna ‘s vaccine candidate was 94.1 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.

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Following a late-stage study claiming that the vaccine developed by Moderna was 94.1 percent effective in preventing COVID-19, the US drug maker said that it would apply for emergency authorisation of its vaccine candidate on Monday, 30 November, reported news agency Reuters.

The announcement by Moderna comes after its vaccine candidate was found to be 100 percent successful in preventing severe cases of coronavirus.

“We believe that we have a vaccine that is very highly efficacious. We now have the data to prove it.”

Dr Tal Zaks, Moderna Chief Medical Officer to Reuters

Dr Zaks, who expects Moderna’s candidate to play a significant role in turning around the pandemic, said he had “allowed himself to cry” for the first time after learning about the vaccine’s effectivity.

“At this level of effectiveness, when you just do the math of what it means for the pandemic that’s raging around us, it’s just overwhelming,” he told Reuters.

Moderna Joins Pfizer in Vaccine Race

However, Moderna’s candidate is only second to a vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and its German Partner BioNTech SE, that has claimed to be 95 percent effective. Pfizer has already applied for emergency authorisation a week ahead of Moderna’s decision.

According to Reuters, independent advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration are scheduled to meet on 10 December to review Pfizer’s data and once again on 17 December, to examine Moderna’s trial data.

Moderna is also in talks with the European Medicines Agency, where a rolling review of data provided by vaccine makers is already under review.