A Covid-19 vaccine that is at least 50 per cent effective and is safe to consume could be a “game-changer” for the ongoing pandemic, according to a doctor and investigator for Moderna’s clinical trials.

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Dr Carlos del Rio of Emory University, said, “Developing vaccines against the respiratory virus is incredibly difficult. If you think about the flu vaccine that we use every year, it’s only about 40 per cent to 60 per cent effective.”

Rio believes that vaccination may reduce the chances of getting critically ill from the coronavirus.

“One of the theories is that you may still get infected but you will not develop complications. You will not end up in the hospital. You will not end up in the ICU. And that, I think, also would be quite transformative because you will definitely decrease the morbidity and mortality of the disease,” he added.

In July, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) indicated that it would allow the use of coronavirus vaccine if it’s safe and 50 per cent effective.

The commissioner of the FDA had also stated that it would be “unrealistic” to expect a vaccine to be 100 per cent effective, as per previous reports.

“A 50 per cent efficacy would be transformative. It’s much better than zero, which is what we have right now. So, I think it’d really be a game-changer if we get a vaccine with 50 per cent or greater efficacy,” Rio said.

US health advisor Anthony Fauci hopes that the Covid-19 vaccine would be at least 75 per cent effective against the virus.

But the White House health advisor said 50 per cent to 60 per cent efficacy also would be permissible.

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