Pharmaceutical company Moderna announced Monday that it’s ready to ask the Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to distribute its COVID-19 vaccine. The request is scheduled to come today, according to a company statement. Moderna will also ask European regulators for equivalent approval. Moderna’s statement says the FDA is expected to consider the request on December 17. That means if an EUA is granted, vaccine distribution could begin before the end of the year. Pfizer announced last week that they had asked the FDA for an EUA to begin distributing their vaccine, with the FDA scheduled to consider the request December 10 and distribution set to begin with 24 hours of an EUA being granted.
Whenever a vaccine becomes available, those likely to be vaccinated first will include health care workers, first responders, the elderly and others most at risk of infection. Both Moderna and Pfizer say phase 3 human trials have shown their coronavirus vaccines to be better than 90% effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday to discuss who will get the vaccine first.
Moderna ready to ask FDA for COVID-19 vaccine Emergency Use Authorization
