Modern Inc.
mRNA 2.68%
said on Tuesday that it would offer its new Covid-19 vaccine to its own employees, contractors and board members in a move that the company said would provide an extra layer of protection to workers involved in the manufacture and delivery of the vaccine.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts company, which has about 1,200 employees, said the small amounts of vaccine needed for the program are separated by the millions of doses that Moderna has committed to the US government.
Moderna said it expects to deliver about 20 million doses for use in the United States by the end of this month and a total of about 200 million by mid-2021. The federal government has purchased the doses and is overseeing their distribution.
Immunizations using the Coverna-19 Moderna vaccine began earlier this month. WetsJ’s Betsy McKay reports on how the injections are distributed. Photo: Paul Sancya / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images
The company’s new policy seems to allow the vaccination of people who are not part of the high-priority groups identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said the first people to receive the initial limited supply of available doses of vaccine are health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, followed by people aged 75 and over and certain key workers, such as would be police officers and producers. workers.
A Moderna spokesman said the policy would help ensure “ongoing operations and pandemic vaccine production”.
The US Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Moderna vaccine in adults this month, after a large study showed that it is extremely effective against Covid-19 disease. Millions of doses have been distributed so far to US sites Last week, federal health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, received the first dose of Moderna vaccine.
The company said that as part of its new policy, it will also vaccinate adult members of its workers’ households to reduce the risk of absenteeism and disruption due to a Covid-19 infection of a family member. The company makes voluntary and confidential vaccinations and covers the costs.
Moderna said it has notified the appropriate health authorities about the program and will monitor and report vaccination information in accordance with FDA clearance requirements.
Moderna officials said earlier that they had taken steps to mitigate the risk of the virus for workers, including the need for personal protective equipment for people who have to work in its facilities and for employees to work from home.
Write to Peter Loftus at [email protected]
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