(NEW YORK) — A second company has sought emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration over a potential COVID-19 vaccine.  Moderna, who touts a vaccine with a 94 percent efficacy rate, followed Pfizer in seeking authorization from the FDA.

Pfizer is set for a hearing on December 10, with Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar promising distribution of that company’s vaccine within 48 hours of approval.  Pfizer claims their vaccine has an efficacy rate of 95 percent.

As for Moderna, their hearing is set for December 17 — a full week later.  Moderna’s massive Phase 3 trial included over 30,000 volunteers and 196 volunteers, in all, developed COVID-19 — however, the majority of those numbers were from the placebo group.

Moderna also included a diverse group of volunteers, including different ages, genders and ethnicities.

The company is expected to publish the results of their trial and subsequent scientific review process.  Should Moderna gain FDA approval, plans are to produce 20 million doses for distribution by year’s end.

COVID-19, as of early Tuesday, has infected over 13.5 million Americans and killed over 268,000 people — according to Johns Hopkins University.

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