European drug regulators have given their recommendation for the rollout of the vaccine created by American pharmaceutical company Moderna, as the EU continues to battle supply issues as it strives to inoculate the entire bloc.
Vaccine
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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Wednesday recommended a conditional marketing authorisation of the jab, with the only step remaining being official sanctioning by the European Commission.
Read more: AstraZeneca and Oxford Covid vaccine approved for UK rollout
This comes as the EU fear more infectious new strains of the virus have been detected in countries such as the UK, which is worrying legislative bodies.
Shortly before Christmas, the same regulator approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for rollout in the EU.
The EU has ordered 80 million doses of the vaccine, with the option to double the amount if requested. The vaccine has been approved for use on people over the age of 18.
Moderna has announced they will be able to manufacture at least one billion doses this year, which will aid in helping mass immunisation globally thanks to various relief efforts.
Emer Cooke, head of the EMA, said: “This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency. It is a testament to the efforts and commitment of all involved that we have this second positive vaccine recommendation just short of a year since the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization.”
This comes around a year after the virus was first spotted in Wuhan, China, and marks the second global regulatory approval of the Moderna vaccine following the United States.
Clinical trials found the vaccine is roughly 95% effective and found no serious safety issues.
Various bottlenecks have slowed progress in administering vaccines in Europe.
Like both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, it uses mRNA technology - a form of gene therapy - that builds immunity over time and required multiple jabs.
In the US, demand for the vaccine continues to outweigh supply. The US government instituted Operation Warp Speed to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacture and distribution of coronavirus vaccines.
Read more: BioNTech jab becomes first international vaccine to hit the Chinese market
Hundreds of thousands of people across the EU have been given vaccines against Covid-19.
The UK has immunised nearly half a million people since it first approved the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine in early December.
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