The FDA approved Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use on Friday, providing a new source of hope in the nation’s fight against the pandemic. The Moderna vaccine is the second authorized for emergency use in the United States, after the Pfizer vaccine He was given the green light last week.
The Moderna vaccine has been approved for people 18 years of age or older. Six million initial doses will soon be delivered across the country.
“With the availability of two vaccines now to prevent COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that causes a large number of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States every day,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn he said in a press release announcing the decision.
The announcement comes a day after a an advisory panel is recommended the vaccine is authorized. The Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products voted 20-0, with one abstention, in support of the vaccine.
Moderna said it aims to deliver about 20 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year and said it expects 85 to 100 million doses to be available in the United States by the first quarter of 2021.
The Moderna vaccine is expected to be approximately 94.1% effective, similar to the Pfizer vaccine. But unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna should not be stored below zero.
Both vaccines require two doses. The second dose of Pfizer should be given 21 days after the first, while Moderna should be given 28 days after the first.
“I am proud of what the Moderna team has achieved in collaboration with our partners,” CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a press release. We managed to create and produce the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in 11 months from sequence to authorization, while advancing clinical development with a phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3 pivotal study of 30,000 participants.
Modern Authorization comes amid a massive vaccination campaign. The first Americans received the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, as the company worked to send nearly 3 million initial doses to more than 600 locations across the country.
One of the first doses he went to a nurse in New York. Prior to public vaccination, Governor Andrew Cuomo called the vaccine “the weapon that will end the war.”
“This is the beginning of the last chapter of the book,” he said.
A medical worker she said she could “see the light at the end of the tunnel” now that she was vaccinated. Another said the vaccine would allow him to hug his mother for the first time in 10 months.
As of Friday, at least 50,000 Americans have been vaccinated, many of whom are health workers battling pandemics. Millions of additional doses are expected by the end of the year, and the US aims to deliver 100 million Americans the first dose of vaccine before April.
But the launch of the vaccine did not come without controversy. More than 10 states said they were told they would receive fewer doses of Pfizer vaccine next week than expected. Some states say they will now receive 40% fewer doses than expected.
To deepen public confidence in the vaccine, Vice President Mike Pence received publicly his first dose earlier Friday. President-elect Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are due to be vaccinated on Monday, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband will follow up a week later. At least 42 members of Congress, inclusive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were also vaccinated.
Authorization also comes as the nation reports staggering hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus. In California, only 2% of the state’s ICU beds are available – and in Southern California, not a single ICU bed is open. The Institute for Metrics and Health Assessment now predicts that more than 560,000 people nationwide will die from the virus by April 1.
President Trump reacted to the news about the vaccine Twitter, writing “Congratulations, the Modern vaccine is now available!” President-elect Biden also issued a statement saying that the authorization of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines “ensures that brighter days are coming”.
Mola Lenghi, Carter Evans and Stephen Sanchez contributed to the reporting.