Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Monday discussed some of the biotech giant’s coronavirus vaccine side effects among trial participants, amid positive news of 94.5% efficacy, per an interim analysis.
The trial on 30,000 adults in the U.S. administered the placebo to half of the group and vaccine to the other 15,000 trial participants. By Oct. 22, 25,654 participants received their second jab of the two-dose regimen, Moderna said.
The side effects, also known as “adverse events,” were described as “generally short-lived,” meaning that the vaccine was “generally well-tolerated,” per a company statement. The most common of the side effects were pain at the injection site, fatigue, joint pain and headache.
“The majority of adverse events were mild or moderate in severity,” per the statement.
Less than 2% of participants developed a fever, according to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel. (iStock)
“The second dose, you have a bit of side effect locally, a bit of pain, a bit of redness, but it goes away by itself,” Bancel told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, host of “Mornings with Maria” on Monday.
“Some people have a bit of a headache,” he continued. “It’s nice to note that the fever is less than 2% of people get fever, actually 1.4%, so very, very low.”
He said the side effects will self resolve without taking medication, similar to other vaccines.
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“It’s actually a good thing in my immunologist always reminds me that having a bit of immune reaction is a good signal that your immune system is working because the vaccine is being activated,” Bancel said.
Further, a Moderna coronavirus vaccine trial volunteer from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill previously shared his experience with “Fox & Friends” on Friday, urging everyone to get it to save lives and return to normalcy before COVID-19 restrictions.
Though Moderna’s clinical trial is blinded — meaning it is unknown which participants received the placebo, and which were actually vaccinated — Jack Morningstar said he had reason to believe he was vaccinated.
“I did experience some side effects after the first injection, I was a little bit fatigued and after the booster, I had a fever the next day but I was able to shake that with a couple [of] Ibuprofens,” Morningstar said. “There was some pain at the injection site which I’m told is similar to what people experience with the shingles vaccine, just for a reference point.”
Moderna’s announcement on Monday stemmed from an “interim analysis,” or information released before the trial is over. While a company statement reads “the interim analysis…did not report any significant safety concerns,” it is important to note that the trial is ongoing.
Fox News’ Caleb Parke contributed to this report.
