Thread by @kakape

Good vaccine news continues:
@moderna_tx just announced its vaccine has shown 94,5% efficacy.
In the study of more than 30,000 participants, 95 #covid19 cases were observed (starting two weeks after second dose):
90 in placebo group
5 in vaccine group

buff.ly/3puVGK6

@moderna_tx Like Pfizer/Biontech last week, this is an interim analysis of an ongoing study and this is a press release not a peer-reviewed article.
But this is one more indication that the first generation of #covid19 vaccines will work and work better than most had hoped for.

@moderna_tx Particularly interesting that Moderna also looked at severe cases of #covid19:
For this interim analysis there were 11 severe cases, all of them in the placebo group.
This does not mean that the vaccine prevents severe cases, but at least it is consistent with that.

@moderna_tx Safety also looks good for now:
"The interim analysis included a concurrent review of the available Phase 3 COVE study safety data by the DSMB, which did not report any significant safety concerns."

@moderna_tx To give an idea, here are severe events they reported with frequency of 2% or more after second dose:
fatigue (9.7%)
myalgia (8.9%)
arthralgia (5.2%)
headache (4.5%)
pain (4.1%)
erythema/redness at the injection site (2.0%)

@moderna_tx All the usual caveats apply, of course:
We don’t know how long immunity lasts
We don’t know whether vaccine prevents transmission
Rare serious adverse events can still be found
Manufacturing vaccine takes time
Distribution will be a challenge
...

@moderna_tx But all the indications here point to this:
Vaccines against #covid19 are coming.
They are coming at an unprecedented pace.
They are likely to be highly efficacious at least at preventing disease.
It is up to us to hold the line this winter against this virus