FDA authorizes Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use on Friday, the second vaccine to be approved by U.S. regulators to prevent severe COVID-19 illness.

FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, called the approval “another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic.”

“Through the FDA’s open and transparent scientific review process, two COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized in an expedited timeframe while adhering to the rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization that the American people have come to expect from the FDA,” Hahn said in a statement.

The vaccine’s approval came one day after a panel of FDA advisers, in a 20-0 vote, ruled that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for those 18 years old and up.