For the second time this month, there's promising news from a COVID-19 vaccine candidate: Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the U.S. and around the world.

Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study.

A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in late October that Canada has signed six agreements with a number of companies taking part in the global race to produce a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19, including Moderna and Pfizer.

Both of those American vaccine makers have asked Health Canada to review their products.

A vaccine can’t come fast enough, as case totals in Canada are rapidly approaching the 300,000 mark, even as long-standing national virus hot spots Quebec and Ontario recorded declines in their daily tallies on Sunday.

In the United States, the case total topped 11 million over the weekend — 1 million of them recorded in just the past week.

The pandemic has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, more than 245,000 of them in the U.S.

Moderna’s vaccine, created with the National Institutes of Health, is being studied in 30,000 volunteers who received either the real vaccination or a dummy shot.