The race to make a Covid-19 vaccine began almost immediately after the coronavirus started spreading globally. American biotechnology company Moderna now seeks the approval for its vaccine from Singapore’s authorities.
This news, reported in The Straits Times (ST), seems to bode well for us getting at least one vaccine by 2021.
Latest news of Moderna’s vaccine reports 94.1% effectiveness in keeping COvid-19 at bay.
Moderna’s CEO Stéphane Bancel told ST on Tuesday (1 Dec) that they’re talking to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) with regard to approving their vaccine for use here.
Describing the dialogue with HSA as “very good”, Mr Bancel appeared optimistic about the outcome.
He said that the approval could “maybe (be) in Dec, maybe in Jan”, citing the need for the authorities to be “comfortable with the data”.
There’s a need to ensure safety from the authorities, he noted.
On 30 Nov, Moderna revealed the results of their study of the vaccine’s efficacy.
Named mRNA-1273, the vaccine is apparently 94.1% effective against Covid-19, while it’s 100% effective on severe Covid-19 cases.
The Phase 3 study was conducted on 196 cases — 185 in the placebo while 11 were in the mRNA-1273 group.
A total of 30,000 people took part in the Phase 3 study.
1 death in the placebo group was reported, and there was consistent effective across age, race, and ethnicity.
Last month, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong noted that Singapore will give vaccines to specific segments of the population.
An Expert Committee was set up on 14 Nov, which’ll assess the safety and efficacy of administering them to specific segments of the population.
This is because not all vaccines will be effective on every population segment, MOH said.
It remains to be seen as to the amount of vaccines or who’ll get access to them here.
That said, Moderna observed no severe side effects in its case studies so far, and told ST that mRNA vaccines have previously been tested in Germany clinical trials.
The vaccine also doesn’t affect human DNA or enter the “nucleus of the human cell”, Mr Bancel told ST.
In any case, we shouldn’t rush to have vaccines available here given the potential risks involved.
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Featured image adapted from AFP.
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