Vaccine is 94.5 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19: Moderna

Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial, becoming the second US company to report results that far exceed expectations.

It will seek emergency use authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration once it has more safety data, expected later this month.

Its first analysis was based on 95 cases of COVID-19, 90 of which received a placebo with five receiving the vaccine. There were 11 severe cases in the placebo group and none among those that got the vaccine.

The 95 cases included 15 adults aged 65 or over, and 20 participants from diverse communities including 12 people who identified as Hispanic, 4 Black Americans, 3 Asian Americans and 1 person who was multiracial.

The results come one week after Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE said their experimental vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective based on initial data.

Moderna has received nearly $1 billion in research and development funding from the US government and has a deal worth $1.5 billion to supply 100 million doses. The US government has an option for another 400 million doses and Moderna also has supply deals with other countries.