Moderna's coronavirus vaccine is 94.5% effective

Shafaq News/ The Moderna vaccine is 94.5% effective against coronavirus making it the second vaccine in the United States to have a stunningly high success rate. According to early data released Monday by the company and reported by CNN.

"These are obviously very exciting results," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor. "It's just as good as it gets -- 94.5% is truly outstanding."

Moderna heard its results on a call Sunday afternoon with members of the Data Safety and Monitoring Board, an independent panel analyzing Moderna's clinical trial data.

"It was one of the greatest moments in my life and my career. It is absolutely amazing to be able to develop this vaccine and see the ability to prevent symptomatic disease with such high efficacy," said Dr. Tal Zacks, Moderna's chief medical officer.

Vaccinations could begin in the second half of December, Fauci said. Vaccinations are expected to begin with high-risk groups and to be available for the rest of the population next spring.

Last week, Pfizer announced that early data show its vaccine is more than 90% effective against the disease.

In Moderna's trial, 15,000 study participants were given a placebo, which is a shot of saline that has no effect. Over several months, 90 of them developed Covid-19, with 11 developing severe forms of the disease.

Another 15,000 participants were given the vaccine, and only five of them developed Covid-19. None of the five became severely ill.

Just moments after Moderna’s announcement, oil prices jumped about 4 percent, while gold lost $ 20 for ounce, and the US Dow Jones index rose above 30,000 points.