A second corona vaccine is approved in the US The FDA on Friday issued an emergency approval for the vaccine by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna. This is the first approval of this vaccine worldwide. According to government officials, use of the Moderna preparation may begin early next week. Vaccinations in the US began Monday with the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine.

“Congratulations, the Moderna vaccine is now available,” US President Donald Trump tweeted minutes after the FDA made the statement. Currently, the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the US More than 200,000 new infections and 3,000 deaths are recorded each day. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 17.4 million infections and more than 313,000 deaths have been recorded, making the United States the world most affected by Covid-19.

Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, expects 20 million doses of the “mRNA-1273” vaccine to be available in the US by the end of the year, and up to one billion worldwide. Production of 100 to 125 million doses of Moderna vaccine is expected during the first three months of next year. To have complete immune protection, each vaccinated person must receive two doses.

About a week ago, a corona vaccine developed by Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer received emergency approval from the FDA. It has been used in the US since Monday, but requires more complex cooling than Modern setup.

In the EU, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is examining the approval of vaccines. Next Monday, he will make his recommendation for approval of the Biontech and Pfizer vaccine. If this turns out to be positive, the EU Commission wants to make a quick decision on market approval in two days. The EMA has scheduled a special meeting on January 6 to assess Moderna’s readiness. EU countries aim for vaccination to start on December 27.

From: APA / dpa