Early data from Moderna’s vaccine trial showed a nearly 95 per cent effective rate. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said it plans to apply for approval from U.S. regulators in the next few weeks. (BBC)

Talking point: “I don’t think any of us really hoped that the vaccine would be [94.5 per cent] effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, that was really a stunning realization,” said Moderna president Dr. Stephen Hoge. It’s the latest potential vaccine to surprise with a higher-than-expected protection rate, with Moderna’s outperforming Pfizer’s by about 4.5 per cent. Pfizer and BioNTech said last week that an early analysis of results from late-stage data showed more than 90 per cent fewer cases of symptomatic COVID-19 in people who received their vaccine than those given a placebo. While the results are well above what the World Health Organization and U.S. Food and Drug Administration want to see in vaccine trials—at least 70 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively—the final efficacy may change.