BBC News
Published
image captionSix million doses could be ready to ship
Moderna has been approved by the US government as the country s second Covid-19 vaccine, clearing the way for millions of doses to be released.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised the US-made jab about a week after approving a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which is now being distributed.
The US has agreed to purchase 200 million doses of Moderna, and six million may be ready to ship now.
The country has the world s highest numbers of Covid-19 deaths and cases.
media captionUS Covid vaccine: Three key questions answered
US President Donald Trump, who hours before the official announcement tweeted that the vaccine had been overwhelmingly approved and distribution would start immediately , said on Twitter: Congratulations, the Moderna vaccine is now available!
BBC News
Published
image captionSix million doses could be ready to ship as soon as the vaccine gets FDA approval
A second coronavirus vaccine is nearing emergency approval in the US after it was endorsed by a panel of experts.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said his agency would move quickly to authorise the Moderna vaccine, allowing the company to begin shipping millions of doses.
President Donald Trump tweeted incorrectly that the vaccine had already been overwhelmingly approved .
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved earlier.
America has recorded more Covid-19 cases and deaths than any other and earlier this week, its death toll passed 300,000.
December 14, 2020
Haryanaâs health minister Anil Vij announced that he tested positive for the Covid-19, leading many to draw connections with his participation in the trials of one of the vaccine candidates. The immediate media coverage and the social media conversations that followed conflated Vijâs diagnosis with the trial in a way suggested that the inoculation of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech may be ineffective. In reality, it is not known whether the minister was given a placebo or the actual inoculation. Even if he did get a shot of Covaxin, it is not meant to be protective until he gets at least two doses to build the necessary protection against Covid-19.