FDA Authorizes Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine for Emergency Use

FDA Authorizes Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine for Emergency Use

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the second vaccine -- made by Moderna -- for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

The emergency use authorization allows the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S. for use in individuals 18 years of age and older.

“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,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. 

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“Through the FDA’s open and transparent scientific review process, two COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized in an expedited timeframe while adhering to the rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization that the American people have come to expect from the FDA," he added. "These standards and our review process, which are the same we have used in reviewing the first COVID-19 vaccine and intend to use for any other COVID-19 vaccines, included input from independent scientific and public health experts as well as a thorough analysis of the data by the agency’s career staff.”

READ FULL FDA STATEMENT HERE 

On Friday, Dr. Philip Chan, a consultant to the Rhode Island Department of Health, said that upon Moderna's approval, the state expects to start receiving 19,000 doses next week.

In Rhode Island, the state is now expecting fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine than had originally been anticipated. 

Chan said Friday Rhode Island had received 9,750 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to date.

According to Chan, 2000 doses have distributed to Rhode Island Hospital for frontline workers, and 1000 doses each to other hospitals, including Miriam, Newport, Women and Infants, Kent, Westerly, and more.

1,226 frontline workers have received their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and the state now expects to receive 6,825 more Pfizer doses next week.

Chan said that nursing homes and five regional clinics are slated to start administering vaccines to EMS, home health and hospice workers, and first responders the week of December 28.