The Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted on Thursday to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna for emergency use authorization.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 20-0 to issue an EUA for the vaccine. The vote came after a roughly 8-hour meeting of the committee to discuss the efficacy and potential side effects of the vaccine. If the FDA issues the EUA, initial shipments could begin within days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must also give its approval. The FDA and CDC took the same steps to approve the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech last Friday and the first vaccinations were given to health workers on Monday.
Moderna said last month its two-dose mRNA-1273 vaccine was tested among participants in a 30,000-volunteer clinical trial. The FDA review said the vaccine is highly protective for adults and prevents severe cases of the coronavirus disease.
The U.S. government has plans to purchase 200 million doses of the Moderna vaccine if it’s approved.
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