Washington DC [US], November 16 (ANI): US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday said that the country is still "months away" from the COVID-19 vaccine, adding that Americans need to continue to practice social-distancing and mask-wearing to combat the virus.

"Today's news of a second vaccine is further reason to feel hopeful. What was true with the first vaccine remains true with the second: we are still months away. Until then, Americans need to continue to practice social-distancing and mask-wearing to get the virus under control," Biden tweeted.

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This comes after US biotech company Moderna on Monday announced a potential Covid-19 vaccine, which has been shown to be 94.5 per cent effective at protecting people from coronavirus, according to interim results from late-stage clinical trials.

"Once again, I congratulate the brilliant women and men who produced this breakthrough and have brought us one step closer to beating this virus. I am also thankful for the frontline workers who are still confronting the virus around the clock," Stephane Bancel, Moderna's CEO said.

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This statement followed announcements by US giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech who last week had said their vaccine, was found to be more than 90 per cent effective.

This development comes as the US continues to be the worst affected country by the pandemic with over 11 million cases of coronavirus. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)