Moderna’s COVID vaccine, to be marketed as Spikevax, fully approved by FDA
The COVID-19 vaccination developed by Moderna was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday.
“The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Spikevax, for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older,” the FDA announced in a statement.
That vaccine has been administered tens of million times since it was cleared for emergency use in late 2020. The Pfizer vaccine was fully approved by the FDA in August.
While vaccines don’t guarantee a person won’t become infected with the virus, people who have been vaccinated are far less likely to experience hospitalization or death due to COVID-19.
Some vaccine skeptics had expressed concern that recently developed vaccines to address COVID-19 hadn’t completed the long and thorough vetting process applied to other vaccinations. That is no longer the case for the mRNA doses used widely throughout the U.S.
More than 210 millions Americans — roughly 63% — are fully vaccinated.
FDA urges COVID patients to stop self-medicating with dangerous anti-parasite drug for horses
Johnson & Johnson, which also makes a widely distributed COVID vaccine, is yet to apply for full FDA approval of its shots.
The FDA has warned against treating COVID with non-approved remedies for the virus being pushed by online conspiracy theorists, podcasters and right-wing cable channels. The agency reported in March that it had “received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses.”
While some celebrities have recommended treating the coronavirus with a human grade version of ivermectin — a drug that treats parasites — Merck, which makes that drug, warns that there’s “no meaningful basis” that it is therapeutically effective against COVID.
With News Wire Services
