Moderna Reveals COVID-19 Vaccine Nearly 95% Effective In Latest "Breakthrough" Results Tyler Durden Mon, 11/16/2020 - 07:16 Moderna has just published the first headline efficacy data from its Phase 3 COVID-19 trials showing that its breakthrough mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which is extremely similar to the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate, is more than 94% effective at preventing the virus, higher than Pfizer's 90%, and "Sputnik V's" 92%. Unsurprisingly, futs are surging on the news, leaving US equities on track to rip at the open. And Moderna shares are soaring as well in the premarket. Analysis of the data, covering more than 30,000 volunteers, showed the vaccine prevented virtually all symptomatic cases of the virus, as it appeared even more effective than Pfizer's vaccine. Only five participants who received two doses of the vaccine became sick, compared with 90 coronavirus cases in participants who received a placebo. The vaccine also appears to prevent the most serious infections. "That for me is a game-changer," Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said. Additionally, Moderna said its vaccine is stable at refrigerator temperatures for 30 days, much longer than the 7 days that analysts expected. This means that buyers may not need the extensive network of refrigerators required to store it. With Moderna's findings following so swiftly behind Pfizer's, there's little doubt among analysts that the numbers will only further boost the optimism surrounding the outlook for COVID-19. As many media figures proclaimed last week, the vaccine research represents "the light at the end of the tunnel" for the pandemic.