Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Highly Effective,’ Says FDA Analysis

The COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Therapeutics is 94.1 percent effective at preventing infection from the coronavirus that causes the illness, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) staff analysis. This efficacy rate was calculated based on the finding of 11 COVID-19 cases in the vaccine group and 185 COVID-19 cases in the placebo group. Additional good news is that 11 cases of severe COVID-19 occurred in the placebo group whereas none occurred in the vaccine group. Furthermore, the report notes that the vaccine was similarly efficacious for all “age groups, genders, racial and ethnic groups, and participants with medical comorbidities [like obesity and diabetes] associated with high risk of severe COVID-19.”

The Moderna vaccine is based on the same messenger RNA (mRNA) technology used to develop the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for which the FDA just issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) over the weekend. Therefore it seems highly likely that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, the outside panel of experts advising the FDA, will vote to approve this vaccine as well when the panel gets around to meeting this Thursday.

The reported side effects of the Moderna vaccine appear to be a bit more frequent than those of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine but resolve for most peo