Moderna announced Monday that its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study.
The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s statement by Pfizer Inc. that its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.
Coronavirus cases topped 11 million in the U.S. over the weekend — 1 million of them recorded in just the past week. The pandemic has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, more than 245,000 of them in the U.S.
Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, welcomed the “really important milestone” but said having similar results from two different companies is what’s most reassuring.
“That should give us all hope that actually a vaccine is going to be able to stop this pandemic and hopefully get us back to our lives,” Hoge told The Associated Press. “It won’t be Moderna alone that solves this problem. It’s going to require many vaccines” to meet the global demand, he added.
WIBC host Tony Katz said Monday that conspiracy theories about a “rush to approve” COVID vaccines are beyond ridiculous.
Katz:
“I will not buy-in at all that all these companies are doing this on the quick to appease Donald Trump. That is an insane thought. These are multi-billion dollar companies, and you think they’re going to risk everything on the vaccine of the century – the polio vaccine of a new generation – just to appease Donald Trump? You’re out of your mind!
So why is Katz not intending to get the vaccine himself?
“Now, will I get the vaccine? Oh, absolutely not. Would I take a COVID vaccine in the future? Maybe. But I’m not going to run out and take it, which is different than whether I think it was rushed to market. These companies are not going to rush their vaccines to market simply so they can be first. That’s insane.”
Tony explains in the clip below.
https://omny.fm/shows/tony-katz-and-the-morning-news/everyone-has-an-opinion-on-the-covid-vaccine
