Skepticism Remains After Positive COVID-19 Vaccine News
CAMBRIGDE (CBS) - Moderna is now joining Pfizer with promising vaccine news. The Cambridge-based company is reporting its vaccine in a stage three clinical trial is 94.5 percent effective against the coronavirus.
"Beyond expectations to have two vaccines now that are close to 95 percent effective," said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Read: When Can Public Get Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine?
It is history in the making for Jack Morningstar, one of 30,000 participants to receive a double dose of the vaccine or placebo. "Being a part of the solution to try to bring this thing to a halt was pretty gratifying for me," Morningstar told WBZ.
There is cautious optimism from Brigham and Women's Dr. Lindsey Baden who served as a principal investigator on the study. "What we can say is, to date, no safety concerns have been identified and that is terrific news," said Dr. Baden.
But the race for a Covid-19 vaccine has raised safety concerns and skepticism among some Americans. Enter community leaders like Roxbury Presbyterian Church Reverend Liz Walker.
"As you know, our community and many other communities that are disproportionately suffering from this virus also have trust issues," Walker said. "We don't trust healthcare, we don't trust authorities, we've been through hell."
That's why Walker, a former WBZ anchor, will soon invite her congregation and more to an online conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
"I want them to know that I'm going to work really hard to get facts and truth out to them which is what I try to do every Sunday morning," Walker said.
The data from the clinical trial was reviewed by an independent panel of scientists and Moderna hopes to ship out a billion doses of the vaccine globally in 2021.