Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Becomes 2nd To Earn FDA Authorization

Federal regulators have granted an emergency use authorization to the vaccine developed by Moderna, whose Massachusetts headquarters are seen here.

Elise Amendola / AP

Health care workers across the U.S. are getting a new arrow in their quiver.

On Friday, just one week after Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine received a federal green light, the Food and Drug Administration formally authorized a second vaccine for emergency use — this one developed by Moderna. The biotech upstart won authorization for use in adults following extensive federal analysis of the vaccine, which the FDA found to be 94% effective at preventing the disease.

“With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day,” said a statement by FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn.