Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine reported to be 94.5% effective

화이자 이어 모더나 "코로나백신 효과 94.5%…게임체인저 될 것"More good news in the battle against COVID-19.Moderna, an American biotech firm, has revealed that its vaccine candidate is 94-and-a-half percent effective against the virus.Following Pfizer's announcement a matter of days ago, this is the second such vaccine in the U.S. to have a strikingly high success rate.Lee Seung-jae reports.U.S. biotech firm Moderna on Monday reported that its experimental vaccine is 94-point-5 percent effective in preventing COVID-19,... based on its interim data from a late-stage clinical trial.The report came just a week after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech reported their experimental vaccine is over 90-percent effective.Among 30-thousand study participants in Moderna's trial,... half were given a placebo,... a shot of saline that has no effect,... while the rest were given the vaccine.Over a period of several months,... among those who received the placebo,... 90 of them contracted COVID-19,... while only five came down with the virus among the vaccine recipients.However,... none of those five became severely ill.Moderna added the vaccine did not show any serious side effects.It said only a small percentage of those who received the vaccine experienced mild side effects, such as body aches and headaches.Moderna also revealed a key advantage over Pfizer's vaccine,... as it does not require ultra-cold storage,... making it much easier to distribute.Moderna says the vaccine only requires standard refrigerator temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for 30 days,... and can be stored for up to 6 months at minus 20 degrees Celsius.Pfizer's vaccine must be shipped and stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius.In response,... the European Commission said Monday that the bloc was working to sign more supply deals with the vaccine makers.The EU has been in talks with Moderna since July,... which included talks of a contract for a supply of 80 million doses,... with an option to buy another 80 million.Last week,... the commission also reached a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for a supply of their vaccine,... with the formal signing expected this week.Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.