We Can Get Back To Normal, Chief Science Adviser Responds To Vaccine News
The American biotech company Moderna announced Monday, that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing illness following exposure to the virus that causes the disease.
The announcement comes exactly a week after the companies Pfizer and BioNTech revealed their vaccine is more than 90% effective, meaning two independently developed vaccines are getting closer to distribution. In the coming weeks, both companies are expected to ask the FDA to authorize their vaccines for emergency use and they hope to start distributing the first doses by the end of the year.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser for Operation Warp Speed and former Moderna board member, says he's "ecstatic" about the news. He says the announcement exceeded his expectations for efficacy and will be key to ending the pandemic.
"If enough of us get vaccinated, there is a good chance that we keep this virus at very, very low levels, which means we can go back to
