Vaccine Advisory Committee votes Yes on Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, FDA authorization could come soon

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Topline

Members of the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products supported Moderna Covid-19 vaccine candidate at a committee meeting Thursday, paving the way for the FDA to give the company an Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine.

Key facts

The committee, also known as VRBPAC, met to discuss clinical data from the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine as well as how the company will continue to evaluate the vaccine in the future.

Topics of discussion included three allergic reactions to the vaccine that included facial swelling, whether people who received a placebo should receive a vaccine, and a comparison with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that has recently been authorized.

The committee agreed almost unanimously, with one committee member abstaining, that the vaccine was safe and effective in people aged 18 and over, and that the benefits of receiving a second authorized vaccine for Covid-19 outweighs the potential risks.

The committee’s vote is non-binding, but the FDA will generally continue to recommend it.

If the FDA agrees with this recommendation and issues emergency approval for the Moderna vaccine, this is the second lethal virus vaccine authorized for use in the U.S. after vaccination. with Pfizer and BioNTech the same specification last week.

Quote Cruise

“The question is never when you know everything, when you know enough,” said pediatric infectious disease doctor Paul Offit, a member of the committee. “We don’t know if it’s going to be effective 6 months from now or a year from now, but there are systems in place for us to know,” he said. “I think it’s a very easy answer. ”

Key background

Last week, a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech became the first Covid-19 vaccine to receive Emergency Use Authorization in the U.S. Frontline health care workers have already started receiving doses of this vaccine, and will at the top of the list to get the vaccine. the Moderna vaccine as well. Both vaccines rely on mRNA technology and require two doses for full effectiveness. Last week, the U.S. government announced that it has used options to purchase 200 million doses of Moderna vaccine, enough for 100 million Americans.

A large number

More than 300,000: That’s the number of people who have died from Covid-19 in the U.S. in less than a year since the pandemic began. As of today, more than 100,000 Americans are currently hospitalized because of Covid-19.

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