Moderna: US Approves the Second COVID Vaccine

Million of doses of the newly approved Covid-19 vaccines, Moderna are expected to be released as soon as possible.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer\BioNtech a week ago, after intense pressure from the Donald Trump Administration.

Presently, the FDA authorized the US-based Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine is now being circulated based on an agreement between the US and the producers of Moderna. They decided to purchase 200 million doses of the newly authorized vaccine and 6 million doses may be ready for shipping.

Currently, the US has recorded the highest cases and death of Covid-19, and according to John Hopkins University, there are more than 313,500 deaths and almost 17.5 million Covid-19 cases.

Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, explained that the emergency authorization of the Moderna vaccine on Friday sums up to another important step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing a vast number of hospitalization and death each day.

How safe is the Moderna vaccine?

The vaccine was authorized after the advisory panel set up to look into the jab’s safety voted 20-0 on Thursday, with one abstention.

At the end of the vote, the Moderna vaccine’s advantages surpass the danger for those aged 18 and over.

Earlier this week, regulators announced that the Moderna vaccine was healthy and 94% beneficial.

US President Donald Trump, who few hours before the Moderna vaccine was officially announced, used his Twitter handle to tweet that the vaccine had been “overwhelming approved” and distribution would “start immediately. Congratulations, the Moderna vaccine is now available!”

Mr. Joe Biden, the president-elect who is ready to be vaccinated on Monday, said that “the authorization of the Pfizer and the Moderna jabs assures us that brighter days lie ahead but the fight against Covid-19 is not yet over”.

“We know the immense challenges ahead, including scaling up manufacturing, distribution, and the monumental task of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans. We need to make sure we have the resources to do all of this and to do it quickly,” he added.

The difference between Moderna and Pfizer vaccine?

Pfizer, the jab produced by the US corporation and Germany BioNtech SE, requires about -75C, making the transport more difficult.

Moderna temperature is similar to the normal freezer as it requires a temperature of about -20C for shipping.

Thus, this temperature difference makes Moderna more available for shipping than the Pfizer vaccine.