FDA Advisory Panel Endorses Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine

FDA will likely issue an emergency use authorization for a second COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow.

After a day spent analyzing the safety and efficacy data for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) was asked: Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks for use in individuals 18 years of age and older? The panel voted 20 in favor, with 1 abstention.

Now that the VRBPAC has voted in favor, the question goes tomorrow to regulators at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who will decide whether to issue an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccine. Considering that the FDA issued an EUA for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine the day after the VRBPAC voted in favor of that vaccine last week, there is little doubt that the Moderna vaccine will also be granted authorization. Assuming that there are no delivery snafus, the company says that it can make available 20 million doses of its vaccine before the end of the year.