Moderna Applies For FDA Emergency Approval Of COVID Vaccine

Moderna stated on Monday that they have filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval of their new COVID-19 vaccine.

This makes Moderna the second company, right behind Pfizer, to apply for emergency use authorization for a coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer filed their application earlier in November. Moderna has said their vaccine is 94.5 percent effective, while Pfizer’s is 95 percent effective.

via Daily Wire:

“We believe that our vaccine will provide a new and powerful tool that may change the course of this pandemic and help prevent severe disease, hospitalizations and death,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. Bancel said last week that 20 million doses will be available by the end of the year.

The FDA’s vaccine advisory committee is set to meet Dec. 17 to review data from the two companies.

Pfizer said on Nov. 9 that its developmental vaccine for COVID-19 may be 90% effective at inoculating people against the disease. The rate of effectiveness was calculated by analyzing early data from 94 trial participants in a study involving 43,538 subjects from all over the world. The small early sample means that the protection rate could change by the time the study ends and all the participants are accounted for, according to the AP.

A third vaccine is now being produced through a partnership between AstraZeneca and Oxford University. They have stated that their vaccine has now proven to be up to 90 percent effective.

One of the biggest differences between the vaccine being produced by Moderna and the one being put out by Pfizer is that the Moderna product does not need sub-zero storage. This will make it far easier to distribute than Pfizer’s vaccine.