Moderna COVID-19 vaccine expected this week

The Moderna vaccine against the COVID-19o virus could arrive in Sheridan this week – or could already be here.

Dr. John Addlesperger, chief medical officer at Sheridan Memorial Hospital, said in an interview with Sheridan Media that the hospital was expecting to receive the vaccine Monday or Tuesday.

In an earlier interview, Dr. Addlesperger said the hospital could have the Pfizer vaccine by now, but this week, he said he doesn’t expect that to happen. He said the hospital now doesn’t expect to get the Pfizer vaccine this year.

In the earlier interview, Dr. Addlesperger said priority will be given to healthcare workers, in particular those working with COVID-19 patients. He said Monday that because of the holidays, those initial vaccinations may not be finished until the end of next week.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization late last week for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which allows the vaccine to be administered in the U.S for individuals age 18 years and older. The biotech company Moderna Inc has said according to an analysis of the clinical trial, the vaccine is over 94 percent effective in preventing the COVID disease.

The company that makes the Pfizer vaccine has claimed 90 percent effectiveness.

The Moderna study involved 30,000 volunteers, of which half got two doses of the vaccine 28 days apart while the other half got two shots of a placedo on the same schedule.

According to Moderna, there were 95 instances of COVID-19 illness among the study participants, with only five of those cases occurring among those who received the vaccine.