Moderna has joined Pfizer in approaching the vaccine finish line, with a vaccine candidate the company says was 94.5% effective at preventing infection. Pfizer's candidate, announced last week, was over 90%.Why it matters: There could be two U.S. vaccines in distribution before the New Year. This is a reason for Americans to buckle down for one last stretch to help save lives.There are a million new cases nationwide in the past six days alone.U.S. deaths are once again over 1,000 a day.Hospitals are filling up and health workers are stretched thin.Now there's hope: The two companies plan to apply for emergency-use authorization later this month, and they could begin to immunize 20 million people as soon as December.Health care workers are at the top of the list, followed by essential workers, people with high-risk medical conditions and senior citizens.The general public could be offered the vaccine as soon as April, Dr. Anthony Fauci said today."This does not mean that in April, everybody who’s going to be wanting a vaccine who’s not in the priority group is going to get it. It means starting at that point, you would likely begin to use those," he said.Between the lines: Moderna’s vaccine can be kept in standard freezer storage for up to six months and refrigerators for up to 30 days — unlike Pfizer's candidate, which needs to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures.The bottom line: Governors would ultimately have the final say of how to roll out the vaccine in their states.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) this morning: “This vaccination process has not been thought through at all. ... They're now saying we're going to do vaccines and distribution. You start off with a very high level of skepticism among the general population. That's 50% that don't trust the vaccine."Go deeper: Axios Re:Cap interviewed Moderna's chief medical officer on its blockbuster vaccine news. Listen here.