Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine on Friday became the second to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA announced the authorization the day after the agency’s panel of outside experts endorsed its use and a week after the FDA authorized a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE.
The vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, based on similar technology, has been put into the arms of thousands of US healthcare workers this week in a massive nationwide rollout. Moderna injections are expected to begin in the coming days for adults 18 years old and up.
“With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D, said in a statement.
“I hope that all Americans will protect themselves by getting vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available to them. That is how our country will begin to heal and move forward,” top U.S. infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci said in a statement.
Older people in long-term health facilities are expected to get vaccines next, with a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel on Sunday set to recommend what groups follow, as industries compete to have their workers given precedence.