"'Moderna' Vaccine Effectiveness Difficult to Judge"...7% Probability at Initial Stage

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] U.S. biotech company Moderna announced positive results from its clinical trials of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, but vaccine experts argue that it has not provided sufficient data to determine efficacy. Even with meaningful results, it can be seen as just taking the first step, entering a stage with about a 7% probability typical of the vaccine development process.

On the 19th (local time), U.S. medical journal STAT cited evaluations from local vaccine experts, pointing out that the small-scale initial safety trial data released by Moderna in a press release the previous day does not provide a way to know how effective the COVID-19 vaccine is.

Experts noted the lack of age information for the 45 clinical trial participants' vaccine responses and the 8 individuals who developed neutralizing antibodies. Since the fatality rate from COVID-19 is high among the elderly, the age information of trial participants is a very important factor.

STAT also pointed out the absence of related commentary from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), which partners with Moderna, as well as the unclear duration of antibodies produced by the vaccine.

Moderna revealed that in the Phase 1 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273), all 45 participants developed COVID-19 antibodies, and at least 8 developed neutralizing antibodies capable of inactivating the virus. Following this, Moderna's stock price surged 19.96% that day, reaching $80 per share (98,000 KRW).

Jerome Kim, Secretary-General of the International Vaccine Institute, recently explained, "Only 7% of COVID-19 vaccine candidates enter preclinical (animal testing) and clinical stages," adding, "Most companies are conducting early-stage clinical research." Taken together, even if Moderna's disclosed clinical results are reliable, it signals that the vaccine is only entering the initial stage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.