Moderna Requests Full U.S. Approval of COVID-19 Vaccine

 Moderna, whose COVID-19 vaccine is currently authorized only for emergency use in the U.S., today filed for the full approval of the vaccine, which has shown more than 95% efficacy to prevent severe cases of the virus.

     Under emergency use authorizations, the FDA makes products available to the public during an emergency, such as a pandemic: based on the best available evidence.

   Moderna’s request for the broader regulatory approval comes weeks after Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE sought full approval for their COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

    As vaccine rates slow down as time progresses, health experts and elected officials remain concerned that everyone will not get the vaccinations that are now available to us, but many hope that upgrading vaccines’ statuses from emergency-use to full approval will allay some Americans’ hesitancy to get their shots.

    Moderna will continue to submit data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the coming weeks and request for a priority review, said Moderna, which has agreed to supply the U.S. government with 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines 151 million doses of which have already been delivered.

 (Photo by: Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)