Moderna seeks US approval for 94.1% effective vaccine

Moderna has said it is filing for regulatory approval in the US, and that its vaccine trials have shown no serious safety concerns.

The US-based company has also said its vaccine was 94.1% effective, with 100% efficacy against severe COVID-19 in its phase three trial.

Efficacy was consistent across age, race and ethnicity, as well as gender, the company has said.

Speaking to Reuters news agency, chief medical officer Dr Tal Zaks said: "We believe that we have a vaccine that is very highly efficacious. We now have the data to prove it."

"We expect to be playing a major part in turning around this pandemic."

Dr Zaks admitted he was emotional after seeing the 94.1% result: "It was the first time I allowed myself to cry," he said.

"At this level of effectiveness, when you just do the math of what it means for the pandemic that's raging around us, it's just overwhelming."

If the approval process is successful, Moderna's chief executive Stephane Bancel said the first injections could be given on 21 December, reported The New York Times.

The product is the second vaccine expected to receive US emergency use authorisation this year following a shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which had a 95% efficacy rate in trials.

Moderna said it would also apply for conditional approval from the European Medicines Agency, which has already started a rolling review of the data.

Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines proved more effective than anticipated and far superior to the 50% benchmark set by the US Food and Drug Administration.