Moderna's vaccine was found to be 94.1% effective in preventing Covid-19 compared to a placebo.

The European Medicines Agency could issue a recommendation on Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine as early as Monday. The EMA is meeting on Monday, two days ahead of the originally scheduled meeting on Wednesday, and could decide to recommend approving Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine. However, the meeting is still scheduled to go ahead on Wednesday in case a decision is not reached at Monday's meeting. "There is a meeting of EMA's human medicines committee (CHMP) today, Monday, 4 January, to discuss the Moderna vaccine," the EMA said. "The CHMP meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 6 January, is also still planned in case the committee does not reach a decision today." The Moderna vaccine was found to be 94.1% effective in preventing Covid-19 compared to a placebo in a trial of over 30,000 people. It would be the second vaccine to be approved for use in the European Union after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved before Christmas. Meanwhile, roll-out of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has begun across Northern Ireland after it was approved for use in the UK last Wednesday. It's thought that those over 80 years of age will be initially prioritised with the vaccine roll-out. 1,801 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours, along with 12 further deaths in the region.