Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine: When Could It Be Ready and Everything Else You Need to Know

[tarekma7]

Distribution could begin in December if the shot proves safe and FDA authorizes it, though it would take well into 2021 for most people to get access, given limited initial supplies
 

Moderna Inc. reported its Covid-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective against Covid-19, results indicating the shot can protect people from contracting the disease with symptoms. Here’s what we know and don’t know.

 

When could the Moderna vaccine become available?

As soon as next month. Moderna says it expects to ask U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize use by early December. It is unclear how long the agency will take to make a decision, and the agency is expected to first ask an outside panel of experts to weigh in. Yet federal officials have said it could get a green light to go into distribution that month, if everything checks out. One key issue researchers and regulators are waiting on: proof the vaccine is safe. So far, subjects have reported only mild or moderate side effects, such as fatigue and redness at the injection site. Before making a judgment on safety, the FDA wants to see how half of the trial’s 30,000 subjects fare for at least two months on the two-dose regimen.

 

When would people start getting vaccinated?

Vaccinations could start in December, if the shot is authorized. Yet initial supplies will be very limited. Moderna says it expects to have 20 million doses ready to ship by the end of the year, enough supply of the two-dose shot for 10 million people. That means the first to get the shots will probably be people at the highest risk of Covid-19 with symptoms, like doctors and nurses on the front lines treating coronavirus patients. How the vaccine will be rolled out is still unclear, however, as the U.S. hasn’t completed recommendations. A National Academy of Medicine panel recommended people whose health conditions put them at high risk of severe Covid-19, elderly in nursing homes and prisoners should be next in line. Teachers and transportation workers would follow.

 

What does this mean for the timing of reopenings?

Return to a normal kind of life will likely take months. Even if Pfizer Inc. and Moderna vaccines begin distribution before year’s end, the shots won’t be widely available until some time next year, probably spring or summer, mostly due to production lag times. As a result, precautions such as mask-wearing and social distancing will continue to be key to stopping the spread of the virus. “It’s not going to be flipping a switch and everything going back to normal,” said Dr. Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. He doesn’t expect large groups of people could safely congregate before early 2022, even with vaccines. “It will be gradual.”

 

What does this mean for other Covid-19 vaccines in development?

Moderna’s results, similarly to those announced last week by Pfizer, advance the new technology of mRNA that was in development for years but yet to be approved for use.

 

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[dMog]

population of the world... this is not a small undertaking, and will take years of hard work at best. Two doses required or it does not work... storage temp is minus 20 for one and minus 75 for the other.... the logistics involved are mind boggling.

 Not to mention a very high percentage must take the vaccine for it to actually work... as it stands now too many will refuse to take it.... polio rubella measles small pox just to name a few were eradicated because of vaccines...That took decades and some of these viruses have made a comeback because of several factors... it is a big scary world out there and viruses can travel and spread much faster then they did even a hundred years ago or in the days of the plagues. Oh by the way during the plague, people who said that hand washing helped stop the plague were threatened with death or excommunication and accused of witchcraft.... sort of like what the anti-maskers do to those who say masks are needed today.

[mp68terr]

Don't know where the -20°C info is coming from but according to a recent post the Moderna's vaccine only requires a normal fridge. Even if it requires -20°C it's still a temperature that common freezers can achieve. You likely have at least one at home. -80°C freezers are another story, they are common in laboratories and the like, but wondering how quickly the 'cooling industry' can provide -80°C units to disseminate the Pfizer-like vaccine.

[steven36]

4 minutes ago, mp68terr said:

Don't know where the -20°C info is coming from but according to a recent post the Moderna's vaccine only requires a normal fridge. Even if it requires -20°C it's still a temperature that common freezers can achieve. You likely have at least one at home. -80°C freezers are another story, they are common in laboratories and the like, but wondering how quickly the 'cooling industry' can provide -80°C units to disseminate the Pfizer-like vaccine.

People don't take vaccines at home no way  each  vaccine require 2 treatments  were they will administer from a medical facility .  The USA is going end up getting like half of Pfizer vaccine when its comes out to the public  anyway .

[mp68terr]

13 minutes ago, steven36 said:

People don't take vaccines at home

It depends on the vaccine/country. I know some seniors who got their shots against the flu at home, for several years, not just now because of the pandemic. "You likely have at least one at home" was to show how common these -20°C freezers are 😉

Indeed medical facilities should have the proper -80°C freezers, but as said earlier it will be hard not to break the cold chain in the case of the Pfizer's vaccine for local places. Two winners so far, let's see what the other clinical trials will tell.

[steven36]

9 minutes ago, mp68terr said:

It depends on the vaccine/country. I know some seniors who got their shots against the flu at home, for several years, not just now because of the pandemic. "You likely have at least one at home" was to show how common these -20°C freezers are 😉

Indeed medical facilities should have the proper -80°C freezers, but as said earlier it will be hard not to break the cold chain in the case of the Pfizer's vaccine for local places. Two winners so far, let's see what the other clinical trials will tell.

If they can make 2 vaccines in less than a year they will figure out how to provide people with it  all this logistics crap is over hyped  . I  took all my vaccines  at  medical  centers .

[dMog]

the flu shot i got 4 weeks ago was at a local pharmacy... mass vaccinations are able to be done is some countries not all countries...not everyone is lucky enough to live in a wealthy country that can do them.  The last major flu that required mass  vaccination efforts, i  got mine done at one several centers set up my city... note i said city, this same effort happened in every populated area in North America as well and the other well off 1st world countries in the world... MANY other other countries went with out, and that was just for a flu... can you imaging poor nations who have no logistics to begin with nor the cash or the capacity to transport covid19 vaccine at the required cold temps... whether it be at an easier minus20 or the one that needs minus 75 or the need to give two doses to everyone... the rich nations of this world are gonna have to step up because it gonna do any good to vaccinate just your people if 60 to 70percent of the world gets none