Second drug company announces valid vaccine

Drugmaker Moderna announced Monday that its coronavirus vaccine is 94.5% effective, joining Pfizer as a front-runner in the global race to contain a raging pandemic that has killed 1.3 million people worldwide.

Both companies plan to apply within weeks to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization to begin vaccinating the public. Officials said the two companies could produce enough vaccine for a little more than 20 million people in the United States by sometime in December, with the first doses going to people with the highest risk: health care workers, emergency medical workers and frail residents of nursing homes.

But a vaccine that would be widely available to the public is still months away, while the need for one is becoming increasingly urgent.

The pandemic has infected more than 54 million people around the world so far. U.S. cases are soaring, setting records every day. There have been more than 11 million cases and 246,000 deaths. COVID-19 is killing more than 1,100 Americans a day, and the last million cases occurred in just six days. Some states and cities are reinstating lockdowns, restricting gatherings, issuing mask mandates, setting curfews for bars and restaurants, and closing schools once again. Hospitals in some areas are overwhelmed, scrambling to find enough beds for the severely ill. Major grocery chains like Kroger and Wegmans have begun reimposing limits on purchases of household supplies like paper towels and tissues.

Despite those sobering measures, the stock market rallied Monday fueled by Moderna's news. But businesses and others braced for what could be a bleak holiday season with COVID's grip on the nation's economy.

Public health officials greeted Moderna's news with a modicum of excitement, especially when viewed alongside the data released last week by Pfizer, which, in collaboration with BioNTech, reported its vaccine was more than 90% effective. The two companies were the first to announce data from large studies. Ten other vaccine makers are also conducting Phase 3 trials, including efforts in Australia, Britain, China, India and Russia. More than 50 other candidates are in earlier stages of testing.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines far exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's requirement that coronavirus vaccines be at least 50% effective to receive approval.

Moderna also reported Monday that its vaccine had a longer shelf life under refrigeration and at room temperature than previously reported, which should make it easier to store and use.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., the company developed its vaccine in collaboration with the Vaccine Research Center, part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the institute, said: "I had been saying I would be satisfied with a 75% effective vaccine. Aspirationally, you would like to see 90, 95%, but I wasn't expecting it. I thought we'd be good, but 94.5% is very impressive."

Researchers test vaccines by inoculating some study participants and giving others placebos, then watching the two groups to see how many people get sick. In Moderna's study, 95 people contracted the coronavirus: five who were vaccinated, and 90 who received placebo shots of saltwater. Statistically, the difference between the two groups was highly significant. And of the 95 cases, 11 were severe — all in the placebo group.

The company said the vaccine appeared safe and effective in all racial subgroups.

The results were analyzed by an independent data safety monitoring board appointed by the National Institutes of Health.

It will be important to determine whether the vaccines work equally well in older and younger people. Researchers also want to know if the vaccines prevent people from spreading the virus — an ideal result that could help quash the pandemic.