The US is the first nation to authorise the two-dose regimen from Moderna
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot by Dr Brian Monahan, Capitol Hillu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s attending physician. PIC/AFP
The United States on Friday authorised Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, paving the way for six million doses of a second vaccine to soon begin shipping across the hardest-hit country in the world. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief Stephen Hahn said: "With the availability of two vaccines now, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic."
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The US is the first nation to authorise the two-dose regimen from Moderna, now the second vaccine to be deployed in a Western country after the first, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved by Britain on December 2, followed by several other countries including the US last week. Less-vetted shots have also been rolled out in China and Russia.
Meharry Medical College President James Hildreth, who was part of a panel of experts convened by the FDA to discuss approval matters, said it was a "remarkable achievement" to have developed and authorised the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines within the space of a year.
7,61,20,962
TOTAL Number OF CORONAVIRUS
CASES IN THE WORLD
16,83,693
Number OF DEATHS WORLDWIDE
5,33,87,779
Number OF RECOVERED PATIENTS
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