U.S. FDA chief says 'rapidly' working to issue Moderna vaccine authorization

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

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 U.S. hospitals and healthcare workers.