Dr. Fauci says he is “not particularly concerned” about the safety risk of Moderna coronavirus vaccine

Historically, Americans are worried about the potential risks of coronavirsus vaccines. While people have many reasons to worry about the upcoming vaccines, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that he is “not particularly concerned” about the safety risk of Moderna coronavirus vaccine.

Today, Moderna announced that it has entered a large phase-three human trial. The vaccine, which is based on the new mRNA technology, uses messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA molecules, to provoke an immune response to fight the virus.

In a conference call with reporters Monday alongside National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Fauci said: “It’s a novel technology. We are certainly aware of the fact that there’s not as much experience with this type of platform as there are with other standards.”

“I’m not particularly concerned,” Fauci said. “But I don’t want a lack of severe concern to get in the way that we are keeping an open mind to look for any possible deleterious effects as we get into and through the phase-three trial.”

Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he hopes the vaccine will have an efficacy of at least 60%, meaning on average the vaccine reduces a person’s risk of a Covid-19 infection by 60%. “Obviously, we would like to see it much, much higher. But 60% is the standard that you do for the cutoff. That’s not unusual,” he said. “I would like to see the highest percentage that we could possibly get.”

Earlier today, Moderna announced it has begun Phase 3 COVE study of its mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 (mRNA-1273).

“We are pleased to have started the Phase 3 COVE study,” said Stephane Bancel, CEO at Moderna. “We are grateful to the efforts of so many inside and outside the company to get us to this important milestone. We are indebted to the participants and investigators who now begin the work of the COVE study itself. We look forward to this trial demonstrating the potential of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19, so that we can defeat this pandemic.”