Author: Cailyn Schiltz

Biotech company Moderna announced they will be asking U.S. and European authorities to allow emergency use of their new COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine is 94% effective, similar to rival pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and BioNTech. 

Channel 3000 reports that the Moderna vaccine prevents severe cases of the novel coronavirus. Of the 196 study participants to contract COVID-19, only 11 of them had received the vaccine. These vaccinated participants had mild cases of COVID-19.

“There were 30 cases on placebo and zero cases that were on the vaccine,” says Dr. Stephen Hoge, the president of Moderna to National Public Radio, “So, it looks like in the trial we've been 100 percent effective at preventing severe COVID-19, which is really what's driving the burden of disease in hospitals and ultimately straining our public health systems.”

The Food and Drug Administration will be meeting Dec. 10th to discuss emergency authorization of Pfizer's vaccine, and Moderna executives predict the FDA will meet again mid-December to discuss authorizing the Moderna vaccine.