Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna reports that its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective in stopping the virus.

One of the 30,000 volunteers throughout the country taking part in the company’s vaccine trial is Dr. Ihor Sawczuk of Hackensack Meridian Health. He says that he was glad to hear Moderna’s announcement.

“It was a pleasant way to start the morning," Sawczuk says. “I could encourage people to understand the risks and benefits of early vaccines. I would not hesitate to go and be vaccinated.”

The Moderna vaccine requires two shots taken four weeks apart. Some of the side effects experienced by the people who have taken the vaccine include fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain and headaches. But the symptoms ended quickly.

There were 11 people in the study who suffered severe cases of COVID-19, but all were people who took the placebo. Moderna officials say that this was reassuring, and that they would like to get FDA approval within the next few weeks."

"This positive interim analysis from our phase three study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel says.

A COVID-19 vaccine would be of great help to New Jersey after a recent spike in infections. Sawczuk says that he is confident that between the Pfizer vaccine and Moderna's vaccine, first responders could have the shot by the end of the year.

And as for the general public?

“Certainly by the middle of next summer. I believe there will be plenty of doses of vaccine to go out and vaccinate a large number of our population in the United States,” Sawczuk says.

Moderna executives say that by the end of 2020 the company will have about 20 million doses of the vaccine ready for shipment in the U.S.