The United Kingdom has recently provided an emergency use authority for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The jab is the third to be granted by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency after AstraZeneca and Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine.
Although unlike other coronavirus vaccinations, as the first doses are not scheduled to come until the spring, the Moderna vaccine would not be safe for use instantly.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 23: Dave Lacknauth, Pharm. D., Director of Pharmacy Services, Broward Health Medical Center shows off a bottle of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a press conference on December 23, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Here's a glance at what we learned and how it relates to Pfizer's on the Moderna vaccine.
Everything You Need to Need to Know About Moderna
It is another extremely successful vaccine
Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are made from a genetic molecule named messenger RNA (mRNA). The component has been researched for more than three decades for other medical uses, including clinical usage.
Like Pfizer's vaccine, Moderna's doses are given 28 days apart. The vaccination was around 94 percent effective at preventing COVID-19.
When the pharmaceutical company released the tentative findings in November 2020, this extraordinarily high rate of effectiveness shocked many scientists. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) minimum requirement for the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine is 50 percent for comparison.
Moderna's vaccine could avoid asymptomatic cases
Latest study suggests that Moderna's vaccination may also help avoid asymptomatic infections, which are thought to make up as many as 20 percent to 30 percent of all cases of COVID-19. Asymptomatic patients are a big transmission driver, experts say, because people transmit the virus to others without knowing they are ill.
This data was not sent to the FDA by Moderna in its Emergency Usage Authorization submission but was obtained after experts recently disclosed the information.
However, experts found the asymptomatic preventive evidence "fascinating and intriguing," but "probably too preliminary" at this stage to bring a lot of stock in.
You would definitely get a sore arm as a side effect
According to researchers, Moderna's vaccination tends to cause certain adverse effects more often than any other regular vaccinations, but the reactions nevertheless tend to be reasonably mild and temporary.
The evaluation is focused on data from more than 15,000 patients who administered the doses, most of whom were tracked for two months following their second dose. Side effects with mild to severe vaccine-related reactions in general were normal and typical: soreness, exhaustion, headaches, muscle discomfort, knee pain, and chills.
In both the vaccination and placebo categories, the incidence of significant adverse effects was low-1 percent. It was almost the same, causing the FDA to believe that there was no convincing indication that it was the vaccine that triggered them.
Moderna vs. Pfizer: What difference would it make?
The two vaccines are very close, but they have a few main variations that, as US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that renders Moderna's vaccine "more flexible."
Efficacy: Moderna's vaccine is 94.1% effective while Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have an efficacy rating of 95%.
Structure: While with somewhat different mechanisms and makeup, all vaccines depend on mRNA, or messenger RNA, to function.
Cold storage: Most notably, like Pfizer's, Moderna's vaccine would not need to be processed at super-cold temperatures.
It is appropriate to store the Pfizer vaccine at about negative 75 degrees Celsius, around 50 degrees colder than every vaccine commonly used in the US. It is only safe to place the vaccine in the refrigerator for up to five days before it expires.
Dosage and timing: The Moderna vaccine is administered twice 28 days apart. Pfizer's vaccine is given in two doses 21 days apart.
Age: The Moderna vaccine will be used in people 18 and older if accepted, while the Pfizer vaccine will be approved for people 16 and older.
ALSO READ: Volunteer for Pfizer's Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Shares Side Effects from Trial
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