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COVID-19 vaccine shows early success
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has yielded strong preliminary results, another badly needed dose of hope as the pandemic enters a terrible new phase.
Researchers at Moderna said ongoing testing shows its COVID-19 vaccine to be 94.5% effective.
With infections raging worldwide, the news is another ray of hope rooted in science, not politics. The remarkable test results could restore some sense of normalcy, but not overnight.
In the vaccine world, Moderna's 94.5% efficiency in clinical trials is about as close to a silver bullet as science can get. Last week, Pfizer's ongoing tests showed 90% effectiveness.
"I was hoping for 70 or 75%," said Dr. John Swartzberg, expert vaccinologist and professor emeritus of public health at UC Berkeley. "All of us have been waiting for some good news about something about COVID and this is really good news."
If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves emergency use, as many as 20 million doses of Moderna's vaccine could be available to Americans in about a month. Pfizer projects having as many as 50 million doses by year's end.
But since both vaccines require two doses per person and administered several weeks apart, that means about 35 million people will get the first full doses.
"The federal government has not appropriately funded the states to do this which they really should have done," said Swartzberg.
Officials hope by the end of January, there will be enough doses available to vaccinate healthcare workers and high-risk adults over age 65.
"It's gonna take months," said Swartzberg. Dr. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said it may take until summer for anyone who wants the vaccine to be able to get it.
People are mixed on whether they would get the vaccine.
"I would take it and I would take it because they've had to go through trials. So, when they go through trials, they can find out its efficacy," said Suisun City resident Thomas Laput.
"For me, I'm more apprehensive than my dad. There are many types coming out so I don't think I would go in there wholeheartedly in the beginning," said Laput's daughter Rachel.
Moderna's frozen vaccine can be thawed and stored in a regular refrigerator for a month, which is a big advantage for distribution. The Pfizer vaccine requires storage minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature few storage facilities can offer.
And the company's lead vaccine scientist says America's so-called "normal life" is still a year off.
Experts believe cases will continue to skyrocket through the top of next year.
"They're going to get worse in December, January, and February. We're in for a very dark winter," said Swartzberg.
Moderna and Pfizer are two of 11 vaccine candidates in late-stage testing around the world, four of them in huge studies in the U.S.