The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday night authorized a second coronavirus vaccine for emergency use as Covid-19 hospitalizations, cases and deaths are piling up in unprecedented ways.
The FDA had signaled it would issue the authorization quickly for Moderna's vaccine candidate, after the agency's vaccine advisers voted Thursday to recommend approval.
"The emergency use authorization allows the vaccine to be distributed in the U.S. for use in individuals 18 years and older," the FDA said in a tweet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to green-light the vaccine before shots can be administered -- and a CDC advisory panel is meeting this weekend to discuss it.
If all hurdles are cleared, Moderna's vaccine could be given in the US next week -- joining Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine, which rolled out this week, with first doses primarily being given to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
"It's an exciting time, but it's a heartbreaking time," Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN Friday of the vaccines' arrivals. "The numbers (of cases, deaths and hospitalizations) are almost unspeakable at this point."
In the US, average daily cases, total hospitalizations and average daily deaths are still rising to levels not previously seen, as hospital staff around the country warn they're running out of space and energy to provide sufficient care
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