Panel approves second COVID vaccine
A second COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration. That clears the way for the agency to give emergency use authorization to the vaccine, which would allow it to be distributed to patients throughout the U.S.
This vaccine has been under development by Moderna. Similar to Pfizer’s vaccine, it uses RNA from the novel coronavirus behind COVID-19 to teach the body to fight the disease. Unlike Pfizer’s vaccine, it doesn’t need to be kept quite as cold, though it still must be stored below freezing temperatures.
It was just one week ago the same panel approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, putting into motion a series of events that resulted in the first COVID-19 vaccines being administered in Kalamazoo on Thursday.
The FDA is expected to act swiftly on Moderna’s vaccine, approving its use within a day. Since it doesn’t have to be kept extremely cold, it can be delivered to rural hospitals that may not have the ultra low temperature freezers required for Pfizer’s vaccine.
You can read more on APNews.
