US FDA chief says 'rapidly' working to issue Moderna Covid-19 vaccine authorisation

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed Moderna Inc that it will rapidly work towards the finalisation and issuance of emergency use authorisation (EUA) for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, commissioner Stephen Hahn said late Thursday.

Also read: US FDA panel endorses Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine

Earlier in the day, a panel of external advisers to the FDA overwhelmingly endorsed emergency use of Moderna vaccine candidate, virtually assuring a second option for protecting against Covid-19 for a pandemic-ravaged nation.

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The FDA is expected to grant the EUA as early as late Thursday or Friday, providing another ray of hope to a nation that has lost more than 300,000 lives to Covid-19 and as record numbers of patients threaten to overwhelm US hospitals and healthcare workers.