On Tuesday, Covid Task Force chief VK Paul said that the US vaccine-producing giant Moderna has been granted restricted emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine in India. Now, the Moderna vaccine becomes the fourth Covid-19 vaccine which will be used for vaccination drives in India.
Dr Paul also added that the government will close the deal on Pfizer soon. In a press conference, he said “There are four vaccines now Covaxin, Covishield, SputnikV, and Moderna. We will soon close the deal on Pfizer as well.”
MODERNA’S COVID-19 Vaccine
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 was developed by the pharmaceutical company in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the US. However, it is available as the brand name ‘Spikevax’ in the US.
Also Read: Fire Breaks Out At Covishield Vaccine Maker, Serum Institute, Campus. 10 Fire Tenders At Spot
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US manufactured Moderna vaccine has the efficacy of approximately 94.1 percent in protecting against Covid-19, starting 14 days after the first dose.
Moreover, the World Health Organisation said that based on the evidence collected till now, the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the 501Y.V2 and B.1.1.7, do not alter the effectiveness of the Moderna mRNA vaccine.
