Moderna vaccine will be the second approved by US

FDA has advised on Thursday to allow a second vaccine to enter the US market on an emergency basis. It’s about the vaccine from the American company Moderna.

The FDA itself made it clear earlier that there were no specific safety concerns. If they approve it on an emergency basis, the United States will be the first country to use the Moderna vaccine. This decision is expected to follow by Friday at the latest.

A committee of experts unanimously voted that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks for people over 18 years of age.

The United States has been severely hit by the virus. On Thursday, the country reported a record number of infections and deaths, 250,000 and 3,700 respectively. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 300,000 people in the US have died from the effects of the virus. Both American president Donald Trump and incoming President Joe Biden see a vaccine as a way out of the crisis.

Last week, the FDA already approved Pfizer / BioNTech’s vaccine in the US. Both the vaccines that the US is about to administer now have an effectiveness of over 90 percent. Moderna uses RNA technology like Pfizer. The vaccine requires two shots that should take four weeks apart.

The Netherlands is also entitled to Moderna vaccines via the European Union. At the beginning of next week, the European Medicines Agency, EEA, will look into this vaccine. Thursday, the EMA also advanced the decision on the Moderna vaccine. It’s coming six days earlier, January 6th. The EU has ordered 80 million doses, with an option of another 80 million.