Moderna CEO Cautions That COVID Vaccine Is 'Not a Silver Bullet' to End Pandemic

Moderna CEO cautions that COVID vaccine is "not a silver bullet" to end pandemic "[The vaccine] is not a silver bullet. What we need is we need surveillance to be stronger, we need public health measures," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said on Thursday. Newsweek

Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Moderna, warned on Thursday that a COVID-19 vaccine is not "a silver bullet," to end the pandemic, and advised people to continue wearing masks and follow public health guidelines.

During a virtual Bloomberg New Economyforum, Bancel said that on top of a vaccine, nations need to initiate stronger surveillance protocols and public health measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

"[The vaccine] is not a silver bullet. What we need is we need surveillance to be stronger, we need public health measures," he said.

Bancel added that while some countries are doing an excellent job to curtail the spread of COVID-19, others are "totally out of control."

"When you see people going to crowded places with no masks, or eating inside restaurants with no masks.… I don't understand it. It makes no sense to me," he said, adding that it's just a matter of time before those people get infected.

Moderna remains one of the leaders in that race, joining Pfizer and BioNTech with vaccine developments that have shown safe and effective results in clinical trials.

On Monday, the pharmaceutical company announced that its experimental vaccine is over 94 percent effective. Last week, Pfizer announced its vaccine had a 90 percent efficacy, but issued a new statement on Wednesday saying it was now 95 percent effective. ..

...experts have told Newsweek that Moderna's vaccine may prove more advantageous than Pfizer's, because it is easier to store, transport, and prepare. ...