The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday formally granted emergency approval for Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate, officially paving the way for widespread distribution of the long-awaited vaccine.

It is the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive such approval in the U.S. A week ago, the FDA granted emergency use approval to one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Distribution of that vaccine to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities began this week.

The FDA’s move came just one day after an advisory panel to the agency voted to endorse the product. 

The vote was 20-0. One committee member abstained.

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The committee was charged with voting on the following question: “Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine outweigh its risk for use in individuals 18 years of age and …continued .
[Source: Fox News]